Carved musket ball with iron nodule? Sinker? Help!

[mangum]

Hello all. Got out this am before the rain hit & found this. The house I was at dates back to at least the Civil War. I found my NC Confederate starburst button at this site a couple weeks ago. I thought this was a musket ball when I found it but not so sure... Perhaps a sinker? Ill leave it to the experts! It does appear to have some sort of iron embedded in the cutout part but not totally sure. The ground is really moist and has contributed to the condition of this. Any help would be great! I don't have any calipers so the size references will have to do for now. Cannonball Guy? :-) Thanks & HH!

 

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[CRUSADER]

I've seen some early musket balls attached by an iron bar, made for a more lethal shot. Can't remember the name, but I've seen them found.

 

[CRUSADER]

http://www.treasurenet.com/forums/today-s-finds/103316-wired-musket-bolo-balls.html

 

[CRUSADER]

OK, I think they are called bar shot:
Record ID: SWYOR-D4F795 - POST MEDIEVAL musket ball - Database

 

[mangum]

OK, I think they are called bar shot:
Record ID: SWYOR-D4F795 - POST MEDIEVAL musket ball - Database

Very interesting! This example looks to be about the same size as well. I'm researching to find any examples found in the US. That would be great if that's what this is, looks very promising. As always, thanks for your input and help!

 

[mangum]

I just thought I'd follow-up with a post I got from Cannonball Guy on Today's Finds. I feel confident that I can mark a musketball off the list.

Precision measurement (in hundredths-of-an-inch) are always needed to confirm whether or not an object is a firearms projectile. That being said, this ball's appearance indicates it is not a musketball.
1- The "bubbly" corrosion/concretion on it indicates that unlike musketballs (which were typically pure lead),it is a lead/tin or lead/zinc alloy.
2- The moldseam on it is unlike the seam typically seen on musketballs.
3- The valley through it appears to have been cast in it, not whittled or otherwise "cut" into it. The valley seems to be present to allow the ball to be mounted snugly onto a rod-shaped object. I cannot identify its purpose, but I'm reasonably sure it is not manufactured that way to be a firearms projectile.

I've personally handled tens-of-thousands of musketballs which were excavated in America, and I've never encountered one with an iron pin in it. Nor have I ever read about such a thing in any book on antique bullets.

 

[CRUSADER]

Shame that would have been a rare find. Bar shot must be a little too early for the US context.