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Identity HelpCan Someone Please Help Me With This Specimen?
11th Oct 2018 21:07 UTCJennifer Stanley Welsh
Luster - Submetalic, opaque. One side appears tarnished and mottled with goldish mineral streaks.
Streak - Silver color with shimmery luster.
Grey streak when scratched on paper.
MOHS hardness of about 5/6
Habit - Massive.
Cleavage - Poor to no cleavage at all.
Fracture - Uneven, hackly and jagged w/powdery residue.
Magnetic - No magnetism.
Weight - 1.36 grams (0.3 LBS)
3-1/2" in length
2-1/2" width
1/4 - 1" thick
Note: Jagged edges are easily bendable with a fingernail. White spot present on upper left side of specimen.
Taste - None
Location - Found in West Natick, MA, USA near Lake Cochituate.
11th Oct 2018 21:31 UTCAlfredo Petrov Manager
I think you have a decimal point in the gram weight that shouldn't be there - 136 grams.
Since it marks paper it must be very soft; Mohs hardness around 1 or 1.5.
11th Oct 2018 21:44 UTCPaul Brandes 🌟 Manager
I'm not seeing anything in the database for the Natick area that would resemble what you have pictured. Are/Were there any sort of smelters in the area?
11th Oct 2018 21:47 UTCDoug Schonewald
I think it is very interesting. I suspect the yellowish stuff is slag left over from smelting the lead (which is what I believe this is based on weight). It could be a natural piece of lead (not sure if that has ever been found in that locale) but as Alfredo said it is likely something dropped by a Native American or early settler. I think it is possibly a piece of lead that was carried by one, or the other, that would be cast into bullets as need arose. Native Americans and early settlers seldom purchased pre-formed bullets. Instead they carried a few pieces of bulk lead, a small ladle, and a bullet mold in their 'possibles' and cast bullets as they had time and need. Finished bullets were carried in a leather bag much like children carried marbles in years past. The tools to cast bullets, some ticking to use as a bullet patch, and powder in a horn or flask comprised their accoutrements. It is interesting and likely we will never know if it is a 'flattened' round ball (aka bullet) or a piece of pig carried for the purpose of making bullets. If it is a flattened round ball it would make sense since a .50 caliber round ball will weigh about 176 grains when un-fired and they would lose some weight if they hit something solid. So that is a distinct possibility. Nice find.
11th Oct 2018 21:56 UTCBob Harman
CHEERS.....BOB
11th Oct 2018 22:31 UTCJennifer Stanley Welsh
11th Oct 2018 23:03 UTCRoger Ericksen 🌟
11th Oct 2018 23:05 UTCJennifer Stanley Welsh
11th Oct 2018 23:47 UTCAmir C. Akhavan Expert
If it is 3.5" x 2.5" x 0.5" in volume, that would make about 65 cm^3. (switching to metric system)
If this was pure lead, it would weigh about 740 g.
Even if you take into account the dents etc, it is still too light, even for iron:
136 g lead = 12 cm^3.
So a 3.5" x 2.5" lead plate of 136 g is 0.22 cm or 0.09" thi
The weight should be measured again :-)
12th Oct 2018 00:17 UTCPavel Kartashov Manager
12th Oct 2018 08:21 UTCLukáš Křesina
This material is probably inhomogeneous - hardness 5/6, but it has grey streak when scratched on paper. On the photos I can see yellowisch grains that looks like pyrite. Pyrite is very common in graphite. So what about graphite pebble? Is it great nonsense?
Lukáš Křesina
12th Oct 2018 11:56 UTCLarry Maltby Expert
See here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Cochituate
12th Oct 2018 12:37 UTCDale Foster Manager
-------------------------------------------------------
A musket ball is roughly about 1/4 inch round which is pretty small unless I'm wrong.
A typical ball from a smoothbore musket can be from .58" to .75" in diameter, depending on the weapon in question.
.25 inch would be very small calibre for a firearm of the period.
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