Maybe we should ask the original poster for the length, diameter and the weight as well?
All lead projectiles do not oxidize the same. Some were lubricated and oxidize differently, and some may be found in ground conditions that also may alter the surface appearance. I have personally excavated numerous Civil War era Minie balls and even older period round musket balls with a very similar patina. While many will have the white, chalky textured surface, not all do.RichSent from my Verizon, Samsung Galaxy smartphone
-------- Original message --------From: Bob Skiles <[log in to unmask]> Date: 11/15/18 1:11 PM (GMT-05:00) To: [log in to unmask] Subject: Re: Artifact Identification Daniel,I agree, it does not LOOK like the usual oxidized lead ... BUT, I was thinking, that, perhaps, the hypothetical [long-time ?] use as a gaming piece may have somehow altered [protected] the surface?? But, it COULD be some other metal (a lighter alloy) and still have served as a shotgun slug. I've shot my grand-dad's old 10-guage (and a variety of large-bore black-powder guns), and ANY reduction in the weight of the slug makes for an appreciable (and appreciated) reduction in the (horrible) "kick." But, as you infer, a metallurgical analysis of the item might be most helpful (along with a precisely measured diameter).On 11/15/2018 10:56 AM, Davis, Daniel B (KYTC) wrote:> There's also a 4 gauge (which would be a closer fit for caliber, if the scale is in centimeters), not to mention punt guns. To me, however, the object does not appear to be oxidized lead, and the surface almost appears to be polished. The base is uneven as are the sides. As the object does not appear to have any deformation (such as from being fired or dropped), the deviations in shape suggest it was not cast.>> -----Original Message-----> From: HISTORICAL ARCHAEOLOGY [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Bob Skiles> Sent: Thursday, November 15, 2018 11:31 AM> To: [log in to unmask]> Subject: Re: Artifact Identification>> Looks like maybe a shotgun slug, but somewhat bigger than the 10-gauge slug that fit my grandfather's old double-barrel smooth-bore breech-loader. He once told me that he had thought, all his life, that his 10-gauge was the largest-bore American shotgun (as a young man, he fur-trapped in the winters, when not farming, and needed something big to expediently dispatch bears and the occasional mountain-lion) ... but an "old-timer" had recently (about 1968) told him he had had an 8-gauge shotgun when he had been a young man (late 19th century).>> So, (from guesstimating the diameter from the photo, which ain't easy to do, with that equivocal scale so far away) I'd opine it might possibly be a slug for a 19th-century 8-gauge (also called "8-bore") black-powder shotgun.>> See the wiki, here ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/8_bore ):>> "The*8 bore*, also known as the*8 gauge*, is an obsoletecaliber <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caliber>used commonly in the 19th-centuryblack-powder <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_powder>firearms.> An 8 bore is a .835 in (21.2 mm) caliber firearm. Historically it was used to firesolid projectiles <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bullet>fromsmoothbores> <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smoothbore>,rifles> <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rifling>and partially rifledball and shot guns <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ball_and_shot_gun>, as well asshot <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shot_(pellet)>frommuzzle-loading> <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muzzleloader>andbreech-loading> <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breech-loading_weapon>actionedshotguns> <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shotgun>. Later breech loaders were designed to firecartridges <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cartridge_(firearms)>...>> In modern times, this size of shotgun shell has a use in cleaningkilns <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kiln>, by blasting away deposits from a distance. This can be done while the kiln is in operation in some instances. Various loadings are in production for different industrial uses.">>>> On 11/15/2018 8:30 AM, John Mark wrote:>> Looks like a sharps round but you need to check the caliber.>>>> Sent from my iPhone>>>>> On Nov 14, 2018, at 10:37 AM, Tim Mancl <[log in to unmask]> wrote:>>>>>> The artifact in the image at the included link was found among a nineteenth century domestic assemblage near Cincinnati. We are inclined to call it bullet made into a gaming piece, perhaps for chess. Any thoughts on identification is greatly appreciated.>>>>>> https://drive.google.com/file/d/1yddAe0r0KdufoWdaEmz9nh9tDT8TKT2t/vie>>> w?usp=drivesdk>>>>>> Tim Mancl>>> TJM Historical Consulting>>>>>> ############################>>>>>> To unsubscribe from the HISTARCH list:>>> write to: mailto:[log in to unmask]>>> or click the following link:>>> http://community.lsoft.com/scripts/wa-LSOFTDONATIONS.exe?SUBED1=HISTA>>> RCH&A=1>> ############################>>>> To unsubscribe from the HISTARCH list:>> write to: mailto:[log in to unmask]>> or click the following link:>> http://community.lsoft.com/scripts/wa-LSOFTDONATIONS.exe?SUBED1=HISTAR>> CH&A=1> ############################>> To unsubscribe from the HISTARCH list:> write to: mailto:[log in to unmask]> or click the following link:> http://community.lsoft.com/scripts/wa-LSOFTDONATIONS.exe?SUBED1=HISTARCH&A=1>> ############################>> To unsubscribe from the HISTARCH list:> write to: mailto:[log in to unmask]> or click the following link:> http://community.lsoft.com/scripts/wa-LSOFTDONATIONS.exe?SUBED1=HISTARCH&A=1############################To unsubscribe from the HISTARCH list:write to: mailto:[log in to unmask] click the following link:http://community.lsoft.com/scripts/wa-LSOFTDONATIONS.exe?SUBED1=HISTARCH&A=1
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