Quote:
Originally Posted by adrian
Here is a 24 lb solid ball and marked so you know who sent it to you.
That is a super example - the broad arrow only seems to appear on very early shot, quite why they went to the trouble is a mystery to me - why do so few have this? I have collected British muzzle loading projectiles, fuzes etc for nearly two decades and while old British cannon balls with provenance are not too difficult to find - museums, private collections, etc - any marked examples are rare.
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It does seen unusual as the shot was obviously an expendable item, so why add markings? I think it was more a matter of an attempt at marking anything considered Royal property and if not mistaken was in the reign of Henry VIII in his concerns over military weapons and supply. It does seem the 'broad arrow' was around considerable years before.
This was in fact marking of ordnance items in storage, rather than an 'in your eye' note. As you say, typically the projectiles are not marked, and the markings on cannon have key meanings aside from what is often perceived.