First hunt for 2015 silver and possible musket ball

[Diggin Dude]

Got out today for a few hours before the snow came down here in new york. Successful hunt started in the woods and I found what I believe to be a Musket ball, but it is a brown reddish color very heavy please see pictures help me identify this.

Also in the woods I found a 1946 silver dime along with 2 wheat pennies, date 1945 and something 9 at the end also in the park area I found a 1945 silver quarter and the 1930 wheat cent.

Pretty good start for the New Year.

 

[pong12211]

Nice finds congrats on the silver washington and rosie. Thanks for sharing.

 

[Ranger121]

All cool, and yeah, I vote musket ball.

 

[dirtlooter]

sweet finds

 

[Beeps in my sleep]

That looks like a musket ball ( round ball). Easy way to tell. Take a knife and scratch it. If it leaves a shiny scar it is lead. If I find round balls that are strange colors which is VERY common in the woods with Evergreens and black walnuts that turn them that color I scratch a small part of it and if it is shiny.. Its lead and you got yourself a round ball. Congrats! I say you got a round ball and Nice Silver!

 

[Hunthicks]

Musketballs will come out in various colours, white, grey, brown and even black depending on the soil they were found in.

 

[Fingerlakes119]

Great finds. Its a musket ball it may not be perfectly round if it was fired and hit something.

Weather did get crazy this afternoon with snow hail high winds. 50 degrees tomorrow

HH
George

 

[Msbeepbeep]

Congrats! Nice silver and musket ball! Another test, a musket ball is not magnetic, magnets won't stick to it.

 

[Professor of Engineering]

Hello Diggin Dude,

Nice silver finds, sure looks like a musket ball. Try the two tests mentioned in the above replies.

Regards,

 

[eyemustdigtreasure]

that musket ball looks chewed-upon...!...it has a story to tell!
Nice finds!

 

[UnderMiner]

Almost looks like a chewed musket ball, perhaps this can help:
Boston 1775: ?Both poisoned and chewed the musket balls?

 

[MUD(S.W.A.T)]

Yeah,

Chewed on musket ball, not sure if it was a human or a cow that chewed on it....

Keep @ it and HH !!

 

[Diggin Dude]

Thanks for the comments. That was an interesting article about chewed musket balls. It's definitely not magnetic so looks like I have me a Musket ball. I only found one large and one mini-ball before and both had white patina. I'm very stoked about this one.

 

[Trezurehunter]

Nice silvers.

 

[doninbrewster]

I'm with those that think it was chewed. Sometimes called a medical bullet or ball. Comes from when there was no painkillers and a soldier would get a bullet to bite on when the pain got bad from some medical procedure like amputation. Hence we have the term "bite the bullet" when things get tough. I found one about 30 years ago in one of Washington's camp ground. You can see the teeth marks. Nice find!

 

[Diggin Dude]

Thanks Don!

 

[danimal03]

musket ball. lead is real soft and easily gets marked up by people and animals stepping on them etc. there may be a light 'chew' mark and if it is; it is likely from an animal. way, way, way more often than not a 'chewed' bullet if from an animal. I have only seen a few 'genuine' 'pain bullets' dug. I have seen one that had a human filling in one. I do not think the practice of the 'pain' bullet was common at all or we would see more of them dug. Musket balls are always a neat find and represent a unique time in our history. and where there are musket balls there are other old treasures lurking about... good luck finding more.