game stone/ball

[rivernomad44]

random find at downtown party, guy asked me if i wanted to see something cool and was like sure, he knew nothing about me or my passion and from behind some wine bottles in the kitchen he pulls this out, and says "i found this in a field in wrens and thought it was to cool to leave there, somebody said it was made by the indians", my heart stopped because that and a full grooved axe are my dream artifacts, long story short i now own it and love it, enjoy

 

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[TheCannonballGuy]

I tend not to comment on misidentified relics unless I'm asked to do so. (That is why almost all of my 1,300+ posts during the past 6 years here at TN are in the What-Is-it forum.) In this case, I've been asked to comment. As my posting-name indicates, my specialty-area of relic study has been pre-1900 artillery projectiles. I've been (specifically) a cannonball dealer (and published author about them) for over 30 years. I'm not saying that as bragging... just giving you my Professional qualifications for speaking on the subject of cannonballs here.

Stone cannonballs were only used during the first hundred years or so after the advent of cannons in Europe (the 1300s). The earliest cannons were made of wood, which could not withstand the greater powder-charge needed to fire heavy metal balls. After metalcasting methods progressed enough for the manufacture of metal cannons, metal (iron) balls were used. There is a simple but hugely important reason for the shift to metal cannonballs. That reason ought to be obvious. Manufacturers (of any object) are always looking for labor-saving "shortcuts" ...because the cost of an object is directly related to the amount of labor (and time) needed to manufacture it. So let's do the comparison.

How many hours of hard labor do you think is needed to turn even one lump of rock into a perfect sphere? (Especially, before the age of machinery for such tasks.) Compare your time-&-labor estimate for making that one stone ball with the fact that you can cast hundreds of iron balls in a few hours time.

Next, check the Historical records for Inventory-Lists of cannon ammunition. Many such lists have survived down through the centuries -- for example, the Spanish in the Colonial era (1500s-through-1700s) were very meticulous record-keepers. You will not find stone cannonballs on them. Also, in my three decades of historical artillery study, I've never seen even one "contemporary" (meaning, written at the time) documentation of the use of stone cannonballs in the Americas. But let me note, I'm not one of the "experts" who thinks he's already seen everything there is to see.

Stone balls can be several other things than a cannonball from the 14th-Century. As several posters have said in this discussion, they were used for games. And Gator was on the right track about "Mill-Balls." Stone ones were used for pulverizing various substances in a Tumbler-Mill, when using iron balls was not suitable for the work ...such as, pulverizing gunpowder.

Here's the photo he posted, showing a Tumbler-Mill from the Industrial era. Earlier versions were simply a barrel, into which you'd put the balls and whatever substance you wanted to pulverize. Then you rotate the barrel on its axis, which causes the balls and material to tumble around over and over inside it, crushing the material into smaller pieces or dust, depending on how long you spun the barrel. Hence the name "Tumbler-Mill."

A final sidenote:
In actual fact, the majority of iron balls which have been manufactured during the entirety of Human History are Tumbler-Mill balls ...not cannonballs. Quite literally, multiple-millions of Tumbler-Mill balls have been made, for industrial use. The manufacture of cannonballs ceased nearly 150 years ago. But Tumbler-Mill iron balls are still being manufactured today, in vast quantities. In particular... if you watch the Discovery Channel episodes showing how various metals (such as gold, silver, and copper) are refined from ore-bearing stone, you'll see enormous Tumbler-Mills in action, using steel balls to make big rocks into little-bitty rocks for processing. This is why cannonball collectors typically call Tumbler-Mill balls as "rock-crusher balls." Sometimes the only way to accurately distinguish a Mill-Ball from a genuine cannonball is by doing super-precise measurements of the ball's exact diameter and exact weight, to see if it matches up with any of the well-documented historical Ordnance Department specifications for cannonball diameters and exact weight. To see some of those very precise (hundredths-of-an-inch) specifications, go here: www.civilwarartillery.com/shottables.htm

 

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[Treasure_Hunter]

CBG, thanks for your post and clearing that up....

 

[Tnmountains]

Thank you "Thecannoballguy" for taking the time to stop by read and comment...The forum appreciates and recognizes your expertise on artillery and specifically cannonballs. Thank you sir.

 

[GatorBoy]

Very Appreciated. There was alot of information in that post. Thank you.

 

[rivernomad44]

thank you everybody for all the info, especially cannonballguy, so mine is 7 5/8" in diameter and about 2 5/16" tall so i still hav no idea what this bad A stone is hahah so frustrating

 

[Tnmountains]

No don't be frustrated. This is how we all learn. Unless things are found in context with other items it can be hard to make an assessment sometimes. I think the stone looks pecked into shape.

 

[rivernomad44]

thanks TNM i agree, right now im pretty sold on it being just what i originally thought, a game ball, but im deff not an artifact expert, just addicted to them ha