Newbie with a story - Cannon Ball or Shotput

[daaaveman]

First let me introduce myself. My name is Dave. I'm in St. Louis. I have a 6 year old (6 1/2 he'll tell you) named Charlie. Here's a pic of us.



It all started a few weeks ago when I gave Charlie $20 and took him to ToysRUs. He found a cheap little metal detector and got all excited. We got it home and found that it would barely recognize a quarter on the carpet......pretty lame. But it got me thinking. I did a little research and bought him a Bounty Hunter Jr. the next week. We bought it on the way to Poplar Bluff, MO to see the family. We were using it for the first time in Grandma's backyard. The beeps brought a gang of youngins over to see what we were doing. Before I knew it, I had 6 kids digging in the yard. Grandma is 91. She was loving all the kids playing in her yard. We dug up some old iron pieces. I was doing all metal and digging everything to give the kids something to do. Charlie was on the detector when he got a strong signal right in the middle of the yard. We started digging and found an iron ball about 6" down in loamy soil. Here's a pic of the find.



The kids were all really excited to find a "cannon ball". The thing is, Dad lived there as a kid and threw shotput in high school. He's quick to tell you he held the high school record. So I'm thinking this is Dad's old shotput. However, there was some minor civil war activity in the area I understand. Grandma lives only a block from Black River so it's not completely unbelievable that there would be a cannon ball around. However, given the amount of rust and corrosion on this thing, I'm thinking it was in the ground 40 years, not 140. In the pic, it has only been cleaned with soap and water. It's still cool that we found "grandpa's" 40+ year old shotput in the yard.

So experts, do you agree that this is a 40 year old iron ball, not a 140 year old one? BTW, it weighs about 16 pounds, the same as a shotput......or a cannon ball.

Now Charlie and I are both hooked. I bought an Ace250 last weekend. We're heading out to an old park in downtown St. Louis in a few minutes.

So thanks to all for all I've learned here so far. I look forward to hanging out here more. Hopefully, we'll have some good finds to show in the near future.

One more thing. This little Bounty Hunter Jr. is impressive for $50. It has decent discrimination and has found items over 6" deep. Works great for a little kid.

Dave

 

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[birdman]

A shot put should have the weight stamped into it. I have drug one of those home before to be let down. I have also dug three cannonballs and that ball could very well be one but you need to clean it up and check for markings. A solid shot would be solid with mo markings and thousands upon thousands were used from the Spanish times on through the civil war. Some of the CW guys on here should be able to help you. It may also be a live cannon ball but you will be able to see some type of plug ,indentation or hole in it. Hope it is a cannon ball but if not it was still fun and exciting for you and your family! Good luck!

 

[tymcmurray]

I believe it is too light to be a cannon ball, but you can check it yourself at

http://www.civilwarartillery.com/

Click on the left hand side on "field projectiles" and then "smooth bore".
Have fun and enjoy the hunt!!
Welcome on board.

 

[Kas]

Welcome!

A 16 pound shot put, Zoowie! That's a chunk to heave. My bowling bowl is a 16 pounder. I don't remember a shot put being that heavy. No wonder I have shoulder problems now.

Good lookin' kid you have. Glad you guys are hooked.

Ken

 

[EARTHWORKS]

Welcome: Great story, cant wait to see more!!!

 

[Mona Lisa]

Great to see you, Daaaaave....and Charlie, too.

It sounds like you're hooked already! It's a great family hobby. Good luck!

 

[daaaveman]

It seems that cannon balls (it's cannon, not canon right?) came in different sizes and weights. I don't think I can rule this out by weight. I also threw shotput in high school and I remember having a 16 stamped into mine too. Dad thinks he remembers his being stamped. I've searched this thing and am finding no stamp.

I'd like to clean it up to inspect it more closely. How should I go about this? Thoughts? I don't want to just hit it with the wire brush do I?

Seems if it's a cannon ball, it could be worth a couple of hundred bucks given its condition. However, we'll save it as a family momento if I can prove it is, in fact, a canon ball. And I'll be headed back to Grandma's with the new 250!!

 

[DiggerBug]

Welcome to TNet and metal detecting!

Great find...and yes, get back to Grandma's!

 

[downindixie]

The weight of the shot was fixed at 16 pounds (7.257 kg).

 

[Born Free]

If that's what you found your first time out metal detecting, you might want to go buy a lottery ticket! You will find even more with your new detector. Wish I could go to Grandma's house with you! Have fun and be sure to post your finds.

 

[catfishterry]

Great find Charlie and Dave, I am from Granite City across the river but I work in St.Louis and I love my 250 I have had it for about 2 years but I don't get out much to hunt.

 

[Raoul]

Hi Dave , nice find i hope it is a cannon ball and you have found a piece of history. 2 years ago while i was detecting a local beach i came across a similar find, it was down 15 inches and rusty but being on a west Australian beach i knew it wasn't a cannonball, someone had taken their shotput to the beach to practice and it must have sunk out of sight when they threw it cause they never found it, i put it on the bench grinder with a wire wheel and cleaned it up,heavy little bugger.

 

[Bavaria Mike]

Hi Dave, great fun with the kids and welcome to the forum! I have found both a shot put and a cannon ball. My 300 yr old cannon ball looked almost as good as the shot put did when it came out of the ground, amazing. My cannon ball weighs 4 pounds. I don't know what you have there. I'll try to help more later but no time right now. HH, Mike

 

[daaaveman]

Anybody got any tips on cleaning this thing? Have a soft wire brush that hooks to my drill. Do I want to be that intrusive or just soak it in something? I can probably build a sort of rock tumbler if I need to. What are your thoughts?

 

[geo4472]

The Armstrong

The Armstrong was a large rifled cannon invented by an Englishman, Sir William George Armstrong, in 1854. It's most noticeable feature was the series of graduated coils over a lengthwise tube, causing it to look like a giant collapsible telescope pulled out in overlapping circles. Because exploding guns were a constant problem, and potentially devastating for the man who lite the charge as well as those around him, the Armstrong design was a huge success. The compressed inner tube in the cannon enabled it to better resist the force of firing. The cannon was imported by both sides in four-inch and 16-pounder models, and then was manufactured in the United States using Armstrong's design. It was made in both muzzle-loading and breech-loading designs and came in sizes ranging from three to 13.3 inches, with the three-inch size being the most popular. The 3-inch muzzle-loading Armstrongs fired a grooved projectile which weighed 12 pounds out to a distance of 2,200 yards. The 3 inch breech-loading Armstrongs fired a 12 pound projectile (also grooved) out to a distance of 2,100 yards. In both cases this is using and elevation of 5 degrees.

 

[ellie_b6]

Cannonball or Shot Put?

I found almost the same exact thing. I live in Stockton, CA and found it out in the field metal detecting. Not sure the exact weight, maybe 4 or 5 lbs. Too light for a shot put I believe and 7" in diameter.

First let me introduce myself. My name is Dave. I'm in St. Louis. I have a 6 year old (6 1/2 he'll tell you) named Charlie. Here's a pic of us.

View attachment 167807

It all started a few weeks ago when I gave Charlie $20 and took him to ToysRUs. He found a cheap little metal detector and got all excited. We got it home and found that it would barely recognize a quarter on the carpet......pretty lame. But it got me thinking. I did a little research and bought him a Bounty Hunter Jr. the next week. We bought it on the way to Poplar Bluff, MO to see the family. We were using it for the first time in Grandma's backyard. The beeps brought a gang of youngins over to see what we were doing. Before I knew it, I had 6 kids digging in the yard. Grandma is 91. She was loving all the kids playing in her yard. We dug up some old iron pieces. I was doing all metal and digging everything to give the kids something to do. Charlie was on the detector when he got a strong signal right in the middle of the yard. We started digging and found an iron ball about 6" down in loamy soil. Here's a pic of the find.

View attachment 167808

The kids were all really excited to find a "cannon ball". The thing is, Dad lived there as a kid and threw shotput in high school. He's quick to tell you he held the high school record. So I'm thinking this is Dad's old shotput. However, there was some minor civil war activity in the area I understand. Grandma lives only a block from Black River so it's not completely unbelievable that there would be a cannon ball around. However, given the amount of rust and corrosion on this thing, I'm thinking it was in the ground 40 years, not 140. In the pic, it has only been cleaned with soap and water. It's still cool that we found "grandpa's" 40+ year old shotput in the yard.

So experts, do you agree that this is a 40 year old iron ball, not a 140 year old one? BTW, it weighs about 16 pounds, the same as a shotput......or a cannon ball.

Now Charlie and I are both hooked. I bought an Ace250 last weekend. We're heading out to an old park in downtown St. Louis in a few minutes.

So thanks to all for all I've learned here so far. I look forward to hanging out here more. Hopefully, we'll have some good finds to show in the near future.

One more thing. This little Bounty Hunter Jr. is impressive for $50. It has decent discrimination and has found items over 6" deep. Works great for a little kid.

Dave

 

[Red James Cash]

The spanish also used 16 pounders.I doubt you lost 2 pounds of iron due to rustso you know its not an 18 pounder,unless the scale was off.

 

[TheCannonballGuy]

Ellie_b6 wrote:
> I found almost the same exact thing. I live in Stockton, CA and found it out in
> the field metal detecting. Not sure the exact weight, maybe 4 or 5 lbs.
> Too light for a shot put I believe and 7" in diameter.

Ellie, welcome to TreasureNet.

The post you replied to was made in 2007. You'll have better luck getting your metal ball correctly identified if you post it in T-Net's "What Is It?" forum. To tell with certainty whether it is an Artillery ball or a civilian-usage ball, we need you to borrow a digital caliper and measure its diameter precisely, in hundredths-of-an-inch, such as 2.28-inches. Also, please get it weighed on a Postal Shipping scale, in pounds AND ounces, because typical household bathroom weighing-scales are notoriously inaccurate. Then we'll look for a precise diameter and weight matchup here:
www.civilwarartilley.com/shottables.htm
If there's no matchup, it's not an Artillery ball.

meanwhile, if you want to learn more about cannonballs... I co-wrote a detailed educational article (with photos) about how to tell with CERTAINTY whether a ball is an Artillery ball or a civilian-usage ball.
SolidShotEssentialsMod