Did any of you see Antiques Roadshow last night? My wife called me in to see this segment and I missed the first part of it, thus my facts may not all be completely accurate.
The fella on the segment (I believe was from California) had been digging in his back yard and dug up a big cylindrical object. While washing dirt out of the big hole in it, with a hose, he saw water squirt out of a small hole at the other end--it was then that he realized it was a cannon.
The barrel (it was a mountain howitzer) was chocked full of info: the date (1853), the weight (I believe it was 234#), who made it, the initials of who tested it and the US stamp of acceptance. I think I left out a couple.
Its' green patena was almost unbelievable. The owner said, at one time, he considered selling it for scrap brass--the appraiser then informed him it was bronze. When asked the standard question of value, he said he had once seen a reproduction (I'll assume it was a complete setup--carriage and all) priced at $10K. He was told his cannon was valued in the $30K range.
I was almost ready to grab a shovel and head for my back yard!
