Hollow cannonball

[mabeknot]

My cannonball is 4 7/8" diameter and weighs 5#. It has two opposing plugs each 1 1/2" dia. They are iron like the rest. One "expert" thought it was a standard issue Civil War ball, except for the iron plugs, which he thought should be brass or bronze.

[PCGeorge]

Hello Mabeknot. Welcome to the Civil War Bullet Forum.

Because you are new here, let me provide my credentials for answering your Cannonball post. My "specialty area" in relic-collecting is 19th-century Artillery Projectiles. I've studied them for 35 years. I wrote an encyclopedic (552 pages) book about them, titled "Field Artillery Projectiles of the American Civil War."

Sorry to have to tell you, there never was a cannonball which had TWO 1-&-1/2-inch holes in it, during ANY era of history. The only actual cannonballs that were similar to yours were some very rare civil war US Navy Heavy Caliber (10", 11", and 15") shells which had THREE 1.3" holes in them.

Doing the math on the weight and diameter of your ball (5 pounds, 4-&-7/8" diameter) indicates that its shellwall thickness is only about 3/8-inch (or perhaps a bit less). That's another fact which excludes it from being an artillery projectile.

Lastly, because there are literally miliions of iron balls in existence today which were not manufactured to be artillery projectiles, we cannonball collectors must rely on the size-and-weight specifications in the "Shot Tables" which are in the US (and CSA) civil war Ordnance Manual. If an iron ball does not match up with one of the cannonball sizes listed in the Ordnance Manual, that ball is not a cannonball -- or at least, not an American-made or British-made cannonball. The Ordnance Manual's Shot Tables can be viewed online, for free, at Descriptions of shot for smoothbore guns .

Regards,
Pete [P.C. George]

[mabeknot]

Thanks Pete,

Well, that's fine. I wonder what the heck it is then? my only real concern is, is it safe? If there's Any chance there might be powder in it.

[PCGeorge]

Mabeknot wrote:
> My only real concern is, is it safe? If there's any chance there might be powder in it.

Going by your description and measurements, it is not a cannonball, and it's way too big to be handgrenade, and too small to be a landmine ...so the odds are just about as conclusive as can be that it is not an Explosive Device.

Furthermore, its Diameter-To-Weight Ratio (which I used in order to calculate its shellwall-thickness) very strongly indicates that there's nothing but empty space inside it.

A brief explanation of Diameter-To-Weight Ratio:
It is possible to calculate the wall-thickness of a hollow "perfect sphere" when you know
(1) its diameter,
(2) its weight, and
(3) the Specific Gravity of the material it is made of.
You said its diameter is 4-&-7/8 inches, it weighs 5 pounds, and I used the Specific Gravity of iron to do the calculation.

The extra-precise sizes and weights of all American civil war (and Revolutionary War) solid-shot Iron cannonballs (and SOME of the hollow ones) can be viewed online, for free, at Descriptions of shot for smoothbore guns

As to what the item is... since its precise size, weight, and characteristics (it has TWO 1-&-1/2-inch plugs) don't match up with any artillery projectile, grenade, landmine, or Sports Shot Put, I am left with guessing it is some kind of Industrial object, perhaps a machinery counterweight. You haven't mentioned any markings on it, so I assume it has none.

At this point, all I can suggest is that you take some good (well-focused) CLOSE-UP digital-camera photos of it (and the two plugs in it), and post the photos. Perhaps somebody here will recognize it.

Regards,
Pete [P.C. George]