found on late 1700s site

[pinebarrens1]

very small fire able cannon very small .............i love it . anybody can date it ... someone looks like they put to much powder in it and blew it out

 

[TomB]

My hunting partner, Smitty, dug a very similar cannon from an old home site in southwest Virgina this summer. We have dated the home site to the late 1700 hundreds or early 1800 hundreds. Our research indicates that the cannon is a "gentleman toy" from that era. HH TomB

 

[Marc(NB)]

nice cannon,as others stated they are a real working toy cannon,rare to find on our continent.In the last 10 years, there is only 3 or 4 dug,either in Canada or the USA,that I know of.(might be more I dont know,maybe some think they are modern and chuck them away) I dug one a few years back.
Heres a bit more info

http://www.colchestertreasurehunting.co.uk/toycannons.htm