Help with identifying? Cannonball

[jrm55]

I took a chance and won what was listed as a Civil War cannonball. I am in it for $47. I am not an artillery guy so need some help identifying this ball as authentic. Also is it Civil War or another period. I took some pics and measurements. Postal scale is exactly 12lbs 4oz. I did my best with outside spring calipers and digital calipers and got a diameter of 4.497.On examination it has a fine mold seem. I believe there is a sprue mark in the seem and also at 90 degrees. I took pictures of what I think are the sprue marks. Is the Cannonball Guy still on this forum? Any help would be appreciated!

 

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[meals55]

I remeasured the ball and I think
I get a better reading from the inside measure of the digital calipers. The outside spring calipers are old and not in the best shape. I'll post a pic.

 

[littleneckhalfshell]

check the search forum for cannon ball, lots of good information in the old posts. On one such post there was a link to 1862 Ordinance tables that listed a 12 pound solid shot as 4.52 inch diameter and 12.25 pounds weight. I am no expert, but know that if it was steel (thus a later period or industrial/not cannon ball sphere) it would be heavier than the 12.25 or 12lb 4 oz. Those who know say a cast iron ball can weigh in lighter, but not heavier than the listed weight from the tables. So from my point of view, it looks good, if a little undersized, but that could be your measurement error

Cannonballguy is still on this forum, he posted to another cannonball question on May 5, 2016, scroll down in the what is it forum list.

 

[TheCannonballGuy]

The diameter and weight you reported for the ball (very precise measurements, thank you) match up exactly with the civil war US and CSA Ordnance Manual's specifications for a 12-Pounder caliber Solid Shot cannonball. (Diameter 4.52-inches, weight 12.25 pounds). Also, your photos don't show any "disqualifying" characteristics, such as flat-spots or a raised band or out-of-roundness. So, in my professional opinion, your $47 was well-spent... the ball is a genuine civil war artillery relic, and being in such nice clean and smooth (not significantly rust-corroded) condition, worth three times what you paid for it.

You asked if it is from the civil war or another period. I've said civil war in the paragraph above, for the following reason. Prior to the early-1800s, cannonballs were slightly smaller in diameter than at the time of the civil war. For example, at the time of the Revolutionary War, a 12-Pounder caliber cannonball was about 4.45-inches in diameter, whereas the size specification for a civil war one was 4.52-inches in diameter.

 

[Bigcypresshunter]

Its great to have a CW ordinance expert on this forum.

 

[meals55]

Thank you The CannonballGuy and littleneckhalfshell! This is why I like this forum. There are a lot of helpful knowledgable members here. I knew it was a gamble when I bid on that cannonball. Now I am confident it is real. I have a nice relic from the Civil War to pass down to my little boy one day.

 

[tamrock]

Glade to hear it turned out to be genuine and for a good deal to boot.