I too would suggest a combination of weight and volume or mass and displacement - just grab a graduated glass vessel larger than the object, fill to a convenient volume with water and then plop the object in and record the change in volume. I assume the object has already been washed so immersion in water would have no impact. Look up the weight of lead by volume and do the math. 

It is my understanding that historically gauge is a function of the number of lead balls that can be cast from a pound of lead. Hence the higher the gauge the smaller the diameter of the barrel of the gun so a 12 gauge is larger than a 20 gauge etc. The corollary is that caliber in diameter in decimal inches.

Silas Hurry
HSMC



> On November 15, 2018 at 3:31 PM Bob Skiles <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> 
> 
> Yes, that's a good idea ... with precise measurements of volume & weight 
> (or even-better a volumetric displacement in cc) it would be possible to 
> determine if that is lead, or not.
> 
> After giving-it-the-hairy-eyeball (again), I tend to lean toward 
> Daniel's objections to it being a slug (based on its surface appearance 
> & its non-conforming shape).
> 
> If it's brass, then it might be a 'finial' broken from any number of 
> common 19th-century household items. One that springs-instantly-to-mind 
> are the numerous styles of andirons (the antique dealers refer to them 
> commonly as the "urn topped" style) that are topped-off with brass 
> finials (of which the subject might be one). The solid-brass urn-topped 
> andirons tended to be mostly found in more well-to-do households, but 
> even the (more affordable, and, thus, more-often found in the homes of 
> those of more modest means) cast-iron ones were quite-often topped-off 
> with a flourish by adding cast brass finials, see examples at these URLs:
> 
> https://skinnerinc-res.cloudinary.com/images/w_640,h_640,d_l_wxesge.jpg,c_fit,/v1446205132/899028/pair-of-urn-top-brass-and-iron-knife-blade-andirons.jpg
> 
> 
> http://www.beauchampantiques.com/inventory/pair-of-19th-century-french-cast-iron-andirons-with-brass-finial/
> 
> 
> https://m.skinnerinc.com/search?s=Andirons&start=21&display=list&s=Andirons&view=30
> 
> 
> On 11/15/2018 12:58 PM, r_a_green wrote:
> > 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
> 
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