✅ SOLVED Top of cannonball, lead/zinc?

[DiggetyDog]

It seems to have been part of a sphere at some point. It's very heavy and won't stick to a magnet but it isn't as soft as I would think lead would be. It scratches but pliars won't leave an indention. Also it's crumbly.

 

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[HuntinDog]

Looks like the leftovers of a smelting pot from making bullets or sinker or a plumbers lead pot.

 

[TheCannonballGuy]

Huntindog is correct... it is definitely the leftover melted lead from the bottom of a crucible, most probably a plumber's crucible. I used one for making cast-lead bullets for my Reproduction civil war Colt revolver -- and the leftover lead looked exactly like what is in your photo. The bottom of the cruciple is "rounded" like the bottom of a soupbowl. When the molten lead cools, it takes the shape of the crucible's bottom, and of course the top of the molten lead is pretty much flat.

By the way... as my posting-name indicates, cannonballs (and other historical artillery projectiles) are my specialty-area in relic collecting and study. I'm 100%-certain your find is not part of a cannonball.

 

[DiggetyDog]

Thanks CannonballGuy. That's good to know. I went back to the spot where I found this and found other small chunks of molten melted metal. You and HuntinDog were spot on! I love it!

 

[TheCannonballGuy]

You're welcome, DiggetyDog. You are still somewhat "new" here (31 posts), so you probably haven't seen something I've said occasionally in my past posts. Way back when I was new to metal-detecting for relics (mid-1970s), a couple of kindhearted oldtimer diggers gave me a LOT of their vast knowledge, for free. Even though nearly 40 years have passed, I haven't forgotten that. I believe I should "pay it forward."