Need help identifying two iron balls

[Airstrike]

I need help identifying two iron balls I have kicking around the house.



1) The first ball weighs in at 5 lbs 15.1 oz. The diameter is approximately 3.557 inches. It has a mold seam and what appears to be raised numbers 1 1/4 (no slash mark). It came in an auction box lot back in the early 1980's with a couple of CW bullets. Others have guessed that it may be a shotput but I'm curious as to what the 1 1/4 could mean?


2) The second ball measures 3.23 inches diameter and weighs 4 lbs 12.2 oz. I don't see a visible mold seam. It was reportedly excavated from a wooded, undeveloped site in North Carolina which had some Revolutionary War activity. It was found buried in one of several stacks of approximately 55 each. Does anyone have specs for Brittish and American ordnance from the Revolution? I already have specs for CW shots and unless I'm doing it wrong, it doesn't appear to match them.

Also, are there any artillery collectors out there that can tell me what a significant deviance from the ordnance specs would be? For example if I measured a cannonball at 3.25 inches diameter, and the table said a 4 lb shot should be 3.17 inches, would that totally rule it out as a cannonball or would it still be possible due to rust, manufacturer's differences etc.? Sorry for all the questions but I'm new at this.

[curbdiggercarl57]

I'd say they were mine, but the ex still has them.
Carl

[flyinguy]

airstrike,hi. check with the relic guys. they have the answer. Bill

[desertfox]

Best guess I could give you is they look like balls used to crush gold or silver ore. Just my guess. Good luck.

[Angelo]

While looking for info I came across this.

canister balls.JPG (85915 bytes)Set of 5 excavated Civil War canister balls varying in size from 1/2" to 1-1/2". Each ball is approximately 1/4" larger in size than the previous.--$35. for the set.SOLD

So, if you take the weight of the 4lb 12.2 pounder and multipy it by 1.25 (1 1/4") it gives you close to the 5lb 15.1 pounder weight.

Wild guess.

Tony

[NGE]

Those were made for "MAJOR HURT!"

[NGE]

Could've also used to belong to the Iron Duke, he will sorely miss them I'm sure.

[greengorilla]

Should not give us forum titles so easy to knock out of the park! Shot came in many sizes that didn't really meet specs. Superman stuff, balls of steel.