What Are These 1 Inch Iron Balls?

[Wildcat1750]

I have dug 4 of these iron balls, widely separated, on a wooded hillside
3 on one hunt and another on a different hunt.

Each measures approximately 1" diameter.
Each weighs 3.4 ounces.
The surface is somewhat knobby.

At first I thought ball bearings... but some have suggested canister shot.

Please help with identification if you can!
Thanks for Looking...
Nick

 

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[dognose]

I have no clue but canister shot sounds like a plausible solution.

Are they magnetic?

What is the diameter of the objects?

Are they the same size diameter or are there inconsistencies?

 

[vpnavy]

I think we can safely say they aren't cannon balls! Here is a great reply from TheCannonballGuy on thread CannonBallGuy .. Can you tell me anything about this? (Sep 30, 2012, 07:02 PM)

You already know all (or most of) the following information... so it is mostly for other folks reading this post, because some of them don't already know it.

First and foremost:
ALL actual cannonballs were very carefully manufactured to be a "True-Sphere" ...meaning, as perfectly round as a glass marble, or a ball-bearing. Being out-of-round (even slightly egg-shaped, or with bumps, or a raised band, or a flat area) automatically disqualifies the "ball" from being a cannonball.

Quite literally, millions of iron/steel balls have been manufactured for Civilian usage/purposes... never intended to be artillery projectiles. Some examples of non-artillery balls:
Mining-&-Stonemilling Industry rock-crusher balls (called Mill-balls)
Ornamental Ironwork balls (such as a gatepost-top)
Sports Shot Put balls
Counterweight balls.

So, we cannonball collectors had to find a 100%-reliable way to tell actual cannonballs from the various other kinds of iron balls. The answer is to consult Historical artillery data, which gives us the very precise diameter and very-exact weight of of every kind of cannonball ever used in battle in America.

Because super-precise measuring is crucially necessary, we "serious" collectors use super-precise tools. To measure the ball's weight, we use a digital Postal Shipping Scale, which measures in 1/10th-ounce graduations. You cannot trust household bathroom weighing-scales, which are typically inaccurate by 5% -- or more.

For diameter, we use:
1- a Digital Caliper, which measures in (at least) 1/100th-of-an-inch increments.
2- if the ball is too large for a Digital Caliper, we use a Diameter-Tape (also called a Pi Tape).

If the ball is indeed an Artillery projectile (cannonball, grapeshot-ball, canister-ball), its precise measurements will match up (within a very few 100ths-inch and a few ounces) with one of the Artillery ball sizes specified by the Army and Navy Artillery Ordnance Departments in the historical records.

Creskol, your friend will need to do the super-precise diameter and weight measuring. If he needs instructions, send him to this Educational article: SolidShotEssentialsMod

When he tells you the ball's very-exact diameter and weight measurements, go to the following webpage and look for a precise match-up. (The sizes given include Civil War, and some War-of-1812 and Revolutionary War artillery balls.) If there is no match-up, the ball is not a cannonball. www.civilwarartillery.com/shottables.htm

For example, at the moment, the ball's diameter is reported to be 6 inches. According to the Historical cannonball size records, no 6.0-inch cannonball was ever used in an American battle. So, if its diameter really is 6.0-inches, it is not a cannonball. The two "nearest" actual cannonball sizes are .25-inch larger and .32-inch smaller than a 6.0-inch ball.

I notice that the photo seems to show some areas on it which have no rust, and other areas which are rusty. That's not a good sign. But we'll wait to see what its precise measurements tell us.

 

[ANTIQUARIAN]

Very interesting finds Nick, unfortunately I've no idea what your iron balls are... that didn't come out right.

Great info provided by vpnavy too.

 

[dts52]

Hi, Nick. If they were brass, I’d say they were off a monkey seeing as they were found in CT. Seriously, there were several documented canon foundries in CT and depending upon where you are, they may have been test fires. I know that it’s rumored that a certain farm in NW corner has a number of canon balls that were test fired. Now just to get that permission...
dts

 

[vpnavy]

I just found this thread - Here is a great reply from TheCannonballGuy on thread "possible case or canister shot (Jan 08, 2018, 12:34 PM)" .. This is an iron ball that is 1 inch diameter and weighs 64.8 grams, I thought it might be a case or canister shot, but it seemed too small. does anybody know what it could be?

​

Ian, I'm sorry to have to tell you that iron balls which are 1-inch in diamrter or less are extremely difficult to correctly identify. Although there are several sizes of civil war case-shot (antipersonnel balls from inside an explosive shell) and Canister-ammo balls, there are also a great many Civilian-usage balls which ae the same size. Ball-bearings are just one example of Civil-usage small metal balls.

There is one civil war artillery ball which was exactly 1-inch in diameter... the case-shot balls inside a 6.4"-caliber ("100-pounder") yankee Parrott case-shot shell. But there are also a lot of 1.0"-diameter ball bearings, and etc.

I must mention, you seem to have measured that ball with the rust/dirt-encrustation still on it. The ball's actual original metal diameter underneath the encrustation is what you need to measure. Because case-shot balls and under-1-inch Canister-ammo balls are only worth a dollar or so, I put the encrusted ball on a concrete sidewalk and use a hammer to bash off the rust-encrustation, and then I measure the "naked metal" diameter. You don't have to bash off every bit of the rust-crust... just do two spots on exactly-opposite sides of the ball, then use a Digital Caliper to get a precise measurement of the ball's diameter.

 

[TheCannonballGuy]

Vpnavy, thank you very much for providing two of my past posts which give this ball's digger the important information on how to tell with CERTAINTY whether it is an actual Artillery ball or is a Civilian-usage ball. You've saved me a lot of effort to re-type that lengthy information.

Sidenote:
In addition to doing super-precise weighing (pounds & ounces) and measuring (hundredths-of-an-inch) on the DE-RUSTED ball, it's important to consider the location where the ball was dug. In this case, the digger says he is in "Western CT." That location excludes civil war artillery projectiles. The ONLY possible type of Artillery ball which MIGHT be found in CT is a Quilted Grapeshot ball, from the Revolutionary War or War-of-1812. So, now the digger will have to do some diligent research to see if there was ever a battle WHICH INCLUDED CANNON-FIRING at the location where he dug this ball. (Many small battles had Infantrymen firing muskets & pistols at each other, but no cannons got used there.)

Vpnavy, please Save the paragraph above, for future use.

 

[Wildcat1750]

I have no clue but canister shot sounds like a plausible solution.

Are they magnetic?

What is the diameter of the objects?

Are they the same size diameter or are there inconsistencies?

Yes, dognose, they are magnetic.
I measured the diameter with a ruler. I really need to get myself a caliper to know for sure.
I do know that 3 of them weigh 3.4 ounces and 1 of them weighs 3.5 ounces.

Very interesting finds Nick, unfortunately I've no idea what your iron balls are... that didn't come out right.

Great info provided by vpnavy too.

I opened myself up to that one for sure didn't I, Dave. I guess I should have called them 1 inch spheres.

Hi, Nick. If they were brass, I’d say they were off a monkey seeing as they were found in CT. Seriously, there were several documented canon foundries in CT and depending upon where you are, they may have been test fires. I know that it’s rumored that a certain farm in NW corner has a number of canon balls that were test fired. Now just to get that permission...
dts

I guess if they were brass they would have been worth more in scrap, dts! Once again location casts many shadows of uncertainty...

 

[Wildcat1750]

Vpnavy, thank you very much for providing two of my past posts which give this ball's digger the important information on how to tell with CERTAINTY whether it is an actual Artillery ball or is a Civilian-usage ball. You've saved me a lot of effort to re-type that lengthy information.

Sidenote:
In addition to doing super-precise weighing (pounds & ounces) and measuring (hundredths-of-an-inch) on the DE-RUSTED ball, it's important to consider the location where the ball was dug. In this case, the digger says he is in "Western CT." That location excludes civil war artillery projectiles. The ONLY possible type of Artillery ball which MIGHT be found in CT is a Quilted Grapeshot ball, from the Revolutionary War or War-of-1812. So, now the digger will have to do some diligent research to see if there was ever a battle WHICH INCLUDED CANNON-FIRING at the location where he dug this ball. (Many small battles had Infantrymen firing muskets & pistols at each other, but no cannons got used there.)

Vpnavy, please Save the paragraph above, for future use.

Yes many thanks, to vpnavy for responding in such a quick and detailed way with these past posts as reference.
Thank you, TheCannonballGuy for following up with more of your great knowledge.
I need to get myself a digital caliper anyway because I'm curious and just need to know as much as I can about these. I suspect there are more at this site.
Yes, I understand location is everything here and I have further research cut out for me.
I do know this:
There were no actual battles here, however, there were Continental troops garrisoned in 2 locations just a few miles from here and Benedict Arnold met with officers just a few blocks away during the Battle of Ridgefield. The French marched a couple of miles north of this site on their way to Danbury. Danbury was a major munitions and supply center for the Continental Army. That's why it was raided by the British. This part of town was still part of Danbury back then and the original deeds (Volume 1) for my property were burned in Town Hall during that raid...Thank you King George. Lastly I recovered a Revolutionary War era civilian sling buckle less than 100 feet from these finds on this property. None of this information will prove helpful but it's fun to speculate!

 

[snaps]

Cannonball, How much does corrosion effect weight and size?

 

[TheCannonballGuy]

Snaps asked:
> Cannonball, How much does corrosion effect weight and size?

Under "normal" weathering and soil chemistry conditions, the answer is "Very little." Only a highly acidic soil environment, or a salty environment, can cause "significant" weight-and/or-size loss.

Example of highly acidic soil environment:
Plant leaves naturally contain a small amount of Tannic Acid. When the leaves fall to the ground and decay, the acid gets into the local groundwater, like when you make a cup of tea. That is why swamp-or-marsh-water is brown. The swamp water's acidity is weak, which is why swimming in swamp water doesn't hurt your skin. But if you leave an iron object laying in stagnant (or verrry slow-moving) mildly acidic swamp/marsh water for several decades, the acid slowly removes iron molecules out of the skin of the object. What remains behind is the naturally-occurring Carbon in the iron, specifically a Carbon isotope called Graphite. That is why relic hunters call the swamp-acid corrosion "Graphitization." Extreme Graphitization can subtract several ounces or even several pounds from the iron object's weight. But strangely, although a Graphitized iron object has lost a significant amount of its original weight, it won't LOOK any smaller. The iron's surface will have the color and softness of pencil-lead (which is made of Graphite).

Example of salty environment corrosion:
Iron objects from Seacoast marshes and shipwrecks gets impregnated with salt, which can seep very deeply into the natural "pores" in cast-iron and wrought-iron. It has no effect as long as the iron is kept wet. But when it is allowed to dry out, the dissolved salt turns back into solid crystals, which can actually cause small fractures in the iron's surface... which then proceeds to flake or scale off the iron's surface. I've seen saltwater-shipwreck cannonballs lose half their size and weight due to extreme scaling/flaking. (They look fine at first, but within 3-to-12 months the scaling/flaking starts, and then there is no cure for it.) This is why cannonball/artillery collectors won't pay much for shipwreck and saltmarsh-dug artillery projectiles.

 

[Wildcat1750]

Better measurements...

Update:

I have now removed the rust on one of the balls using a hammer, evaporust, and a buffing wheel...

The ball is now 1.12 inches diameter measured with a digital caliper.

The weight is now 3.4 ounces measured with a postal scale or 96.38 grams.