1/2 OF OLD CAST IRON BELL

[nomad 11]

i fished it out of a creek yesterday i thought it was from an end of a sewer pipe then i looked closer at it and realized it was a bell.the edges are really jagged so dont know how it was crushed or what.i never saw a cast iron one before,is that what they made them out of before the brass ones?so how old might this be?anybody study bell's out there?thanks-nomad

 

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[unfound]

Any tell tell markings on the bell. A name on it would help. a quick search on google, for something like cast iron bells would give lots of info also. And pictures, guys who identify things always need pictures.

 

[nomad 11]

Any tell tell markings on the bell. A name on it would help. a quick search on google, for something like cast iron bells would give lots of info also. And pictures, guys who identify things always need pictures.

this thing is really crusty i'll try to take a wire brush to it tomorrow and post a picture or 2.who knows how long its been in the water.

 

[nomad 11]

ok heres a picture of my 1/2 bell. its 16 inches wide across the bottom.maybe an old schoolhouse bell ?

 

[gunsil]

A lot of cast iron bells were used on farms. I'm sure you must see them in antique stores in your area, I always see old cast iron farm bells in antique malls and shops when I'm in the midwest. They were not made before brass or bell metal bells, they were made to be cheaper than the brass or bell metal bells. By the way bell metal contained up to 30 percent silver and was used in the 1700s for church bells in europe. Some of the early Spanish mission bells in this country were made of bell metal and the silver content helped give them a better sound than plain brass bells. Bells have been made since the bronze age and were made of bronze and brass before man knew how to get iron from ore to metal.

 

[nomad 11]

A lot of cast iron bells were used on farms. I'm sure you must see them in antique stores in your area, I always see old cast iron farm bells in antique malls and shops when I'm in the midwest. They were not made before brass or bell metal bells, they were made to be cheaper than the brass or bell metal bells. By the way bell metal contained up to 30 percent silver and was used in the 1700s for church bells in europe. Some of the early Spanish mission bells in this country were made of bell metal and the silver content helped give them a better sound than plain brass bells. Bells have been made since the bronze age and were made of bronze and brass before man knew how to get iron from ore to metal.

hey there gunsil-how can I tell if this has any silver in it?sure doesn't appear to have any?thanks-nomad

 

[gradechecker69]

How deep is it? Congrats and HH

 

[gunsil]

hey there gunsil-how can I tell if this has any silver in it?sure doesn't appear to have any?thanks-nomad

The iron bells have no silver in them. Bell metal contains no iron. Your bell is late 1800s-1930s or so and now just a rusty relic with little value to anybody other than it is cool to find such things for a lot of us MDers. I did not mean to get your hopes up by mentioning bell metal, I did state that it was used before there were iron bells. It could have been a schoolhouse bell, but we'll never know for sure. All the schoolhouse bells around here are brass, but possibly schools may have used them in your area although I believe it was a farm bell. Communities paid for church and school bells and could more easily afford nice brass bells which were and are more expensive than the iron bells. Have you looked around and found the rest of it yet??

 

[nomad 11]

The iron bells have no silver in them. Bell metal contains no iron. Your bell is late 1800s-1930s or so and now just a rusty relic with little value to anybody other than it is cool to find such things for a lot of us MDers. I did not mean to get your hopes up by mentioning bell metal, I did state that it was used before there were iron bells. It could have been a schoolhouse bell, but we'll never know for sure. All the schoolhouse bells around here are brass, but possibly schools may have used them in your area although I believe it was a farm bell. Communities paid for church and school bells and could more easily afford nice brass bells which were and are more expensive than the iron bells. Have you looked around and found the rest of it yet??

hey there gunsil-yeah i've been scouring this creek and hav'nt come across any other remnants from this bell.the rest might be buried underground in the surrounding area though or maybe it was taken from another area and then tossed there.thanks for the info.nomad