Had a "Blast" Digging a Revolutionary War Cannonball!

[VTColonialDigger]

Sorry the photos are small, something isn't working out .Probably have to click on them to see them larger.

So today I returned with my buddy to the site where I found my first Revolutionary War button, a British 10th Regiment of Foot Button


I started off the day by digging this cool Colonial pewter spoon bowl:



After this find things slowed down for a bit, but this wouldn't be the case for long. After swinging around some more, I got a bouncy mid-tone. After taking a few shovelfuls of dirt out of the hole, I saw a rusty iron object with a round shape. After a more little digging, more of the object was revealed and with Rev War activity in the area, "cannonball" crossed my mind, but I thought for sure that it had to be something else. After digging down to almost a foot, I realized what was at the bottom of my hole and continued digging very quickly, trying not to damage the thing, as excitement flooded through me:


(Screenshot from a video my buddy took of me digging the cannonball out)

After finally getting it out I was fairly well in shock! I was holding a Revolutionary War cannonball in my hand!





Based on measurements (4 inches in diameter) and weight (roughly 9 pounds) I believe this to be a 9 pounder cannonball from the American Revolutionary War!!!

This is the first cannonball I have ever found.





All the finds from today


I still cannot believe that I had the privilege to dig such a piece of American History today!


VTColonialDigger

P.S. All I have done so far to clean it is scrub it down with a brush and water. I am planning to do electrolysis on it at some point soon.

 

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[HunterMF]

Amazing!! Out of curiosity, what detector were you using and what did it ring in as?? Huge congrats on the amazing find!

 

[VTColonialDigger]

Amazing!! Out of curiosity, what detector were you using and what did it ring in as?? Huge congrats on the amazing find!

Thank you HunterMF! I use the Garrett Ace 400. The cannonball rang up in the 40's-60's but was jumping around a lot.

 

[smokeythecat]

Nicely done! They are not easy to find anymore. Looks like the ACE really came through for you.

 

[VTColonialDigger]

Nicely done! They are not easy to find anymore. Looks like the ACE really came through for you.

Thank you very much Smokey! The ACE certainly did, it has done me well over the years.

 

[Digger RJ]

Very Good!!! Congrats!!!

 

[CASPER-2]

 

[Tony in SC]

WOW! That is about as good as it gets!!

 

[Elvis]

Awesome find!!!! Congrats!!

 

[VTColonialDigger]

Very Good!!! Congrats!!!

Thank you Digger!

Thank you Casper!!

WOW! That is about as good as it gets!!

Thank you so much Tony!! Was very exciting for sure!

Awesome find!!!! Congrats!!

Thanks Elvis!

 

[smallfoot]

Big congrats on a big find!

 

[Florida Finder]

Wow super find! Vest back out there again!

 

[Rmeav8r]

Nice work! You?re obviously in a fantastic hunting location, I know there?s more great finds there....waiting to here about more of your discoveries!

 

[ANTIQUARIAN]

Wow, it's a great hunt when you find a 250-year-old Rev. War cannonball with an ACE 400!
Great pic of you holding your prize find as well.

Do you know any of the history of the site, was there Rev. War activity there?

Best of luck on the electrolysis,
Dave

 

[pepperj]

So today I returned with my buddy to the site where I found my first Revolutionary War button, a British 10th Regiment of Foot Button





After a more little digging, more of the object was revealed and with Rev War activity in the area, "cannonball" crossed my mind, but I thought for sure that it had to be something else.



After finally getting it out I was fairly well in shock! I was holding a Revolutionary War cannonball in my hand!

Based on measurements (4 inches in diameter) and weight (roughly 9 pounds) I believe this to be a 9 pounder cannonball from the American Revolutionary War!!!

Congrats on your cannonball recovery.
Oh the first thoughts that go through one's mind when digging, and the first glimpse of something in the hole when you know a site has the potential of some real history.
The great thing about it wasn't just a hope-but actually what you believed it might be.
Well done!

 

[relicmeister]

Awesome. Not to diminish your find in any way but I have found the same
In NJ which sits in a clear display case on the Living room shelf. I found mine
In an area where iron was mined and smelted in furnaces and maybe cannonballs
Were being made there as well. Yours is the first I’ve seen that matches mine
In size and weight. Very cool and well done. Rare find indeed

 

[VTColonialDigger]

Big congrats on a big find!

Thank you very much Smallfoot!

Wow super find! Vest back out there again!

Thank you Florida Finder, I'm hoping to be able to return to the site soon!

Nice work! You?re obviously in a fantastic hunting location, I know there?s more great finds there....waiting to here about more of your discoveries!

Thanks Rmeav8r! It's definitely a very fun site to search an there's certainly no telling what's still there! I'll be sure to keep the Tnet communtity updated with my findings!

Wow, it's a great hunt when you find a 250-year-old Rev. War cannonball with an ACE 400!
Great pic of you holding your prize find as well.

Do you know any of the history of the site, was there Rev. War activity there?

Best of luck on the electrolysis,
Dave

Thank you very much ANTIQUARIAN! I know a bit about the history of the site, there was a lot of Revolutionary War activity in this area, both American and British.

I'll post some pictures after the electrolysis process.

Congrats on your cannonball recovery.
Oh the first thoughts that go through one's mind when digging, and the first glimpse of something in the hole when you know a site has the potential of some real history.
The great thing about it wasn't just a hope-but actually what you believed it might be.
Well done!

Thank you PepperJ! You captured exactly what was running though my head the whole time I was digging it out, I was hoping it was a cannonball but thought for sure that it had to be something else !

Awesome. Not to diminish your find in any way but I have found the same
In NJ which sits in a clear display case on the Living room shelf. I found mine
In an area where iron was mined and smelted in furnaces and maybe cannonballs
Were being made there as well. Yours is the first I?ve seen that matches mine
In size and weight. Very cool and well done. Rare find indeed

Thank you Relicmiester! Not diminishing my find at all! That's very interesting that we found the same cannonball!! Thanks for sharing about yours!

 

[JBnNC]

Great Find!

 

[VTColonialDigger]

Great Find!

Thank you JB!

 

[erfranks]

Awesome Hunt, Great saves!!