Small Brass/ Bronze/ or Copper Ball found by House from 1850 in CT? WHAT IS IT?!

[Dvirgs]

So I went metal detecting in Rockville, CT alongside my fathers house and dug up this ball about 1 foot deep in the ground. Could it be a cannon shot? Or just some farm equipment from the 1800's. Either way, I am stumped on this one.

Wt: 5.83 oz
Diameter: ~1.4"


Feel free to ask any other questions

 

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[creskol]

It looks like a weight from a spherical weight clock.

 

[TheCannonballGuy]

Except for a couple of battles near the Texas-Mexico border where the Mexican artillery fired some copper/brass balls, none were ever used in North America (the US and Canada).

Based on the size (1.4") of copper or brass ball you found, and the fact that it is a perfectly spherical ball manufactured with a super-smooth surface, I believe it is most likely to be a waterpump check-valve ball. To prevent water from leaking around them, they need to be perfectly spherical with a super-smooth surface. Copper and brass are preferred because those metals do not rust or corrode in the wet environment. Also, copper and copperbrass are toxic to algae, which could otherwise "gum up the works." Copper/brass check-valve balls have been discussed previously here in the What-Is-It? forum. Here's a scan I saved from that discussion, posted by BigCypressHunter.

 

[Dvirgs]

I got so excited when I found it! But like 95% of metal detector finds..you cant get your hopes up! Do you think its is Copper or Brass? any ways for me to tell at home? Is this ball possible to date? or should I just sell it as copper scrap haha!

 

[TheCannonballGuy]

Dvirgs (thew ball's finder and poster of it) wrote:
> Do you think its is Copper or Brass?

I based my ID of the ball on your own statement (in your post's title) that the ball is "brass/ bronze/ or copper". Now you are asking if I think it is one of those metals?

Well, okay... use a file or knife-edge to make a scrape on the ball's surface. Then check the color of the metal in scrape for a match to these descriptions:
bronze = light-yellow or light-golden
brass = yellow
copperbrass (brass which contains a high percentage of copper) = golden-to-orange
copper = pink like a new penny

 

[mchammerred]

Brass Ball Found on farm with Medieval history.

I found a similar ball in the UK that is bigger and heavier at 2 1/4" dia and weighs 2lb , is this likely to be one of those pump valve balls or could this one be a cannon ball do you think. It is brass material.

 

[Tony in SC]

CannonballGuy is right. One of my old (1904) hit&miss engines powered a pump that had large brass balls for checks. It didn't use the spring, just the weight of the ball.

Except for a couple of battles near the Texas-Mexico border where the Mexican artillery fired some copper/brass balls, none were ever used in North America (the US and Canada).

Based on the size (1.4") of copper or brass ball you found, and the fact that it is a perfectly spherical ball manufactured with a super-smooth surface, I believe it is most likely to be a waterpump check-valve ball. To prevent water from leaking around them, they need to be perfectly spherical with a super-smooth surface. Copper and brass are preferred because those metals do not rust or corrode in the wet environment. Also, copper and copperbrass are toxic to algae, which could otherwise "gum up the works." Copper/brass check-valve balls have been discussed previously here in the What-Is-It? forum. Here's a scan I saved from that discussion, posted by BigCypressHunter.