Cannonball or mill ball ?

[J-Hend]

Well my first week into this hobby I went to a civil war battle ground and found this ball about 18 inches deep in a creek ... It had black covered around it some but I didn't know if it could have been a canister ball from a 42pdr. It weighs 1.37 pounds and is 2-1/4 inches thick on the long and 2-1/8 inches thick on the short ....I was noticing the seam at about the middle.... I wonder if it's just an old steel ball or an actual civil war ball. Any help would surely be appreciated ! Thanks everyone.

 

[ekeisler]

In my opinion I think it's a mill ball or something industrial. To get a better ID post this in the What Is It forum and Cannonball Guy will ID it for you ASAP. He is highly experienced and everyone on T-net asks him to ID iron balls for them. He's great. HH!

 

[TheCannonballGuy]

As my posting name indicates, historical Artillery balls are my specialty area in relic-study. (Check the "About me" section of my T-Net Profile.) Unfortunately, I have to tell you that your iron ball from the creek is FAR too badly corroded to ever identify with any certainty. Yes, it might have been an Artillery ball, but it could also have been one of the many varieties of Civilian-usage iron balls.