Hello. This is my first post here, though I've been lurking the forum for the last week and a half and it looks like a great site with a lot of information. (Note to Carl, I'm the guy who bought the 10 inch solid shot in Mansfield).
For my first post I decided to see if I could find out anything about an unusual shell that I've had for a while. It measures just under eight inches in diameter, about 7.9" give or take. The wall of the shell is only about half an inch in diameter and the fuse hole measures about 1.01" across. It weighs about 23 pounds. I can feel a very pronounced mold seam on the inside, and the outside seems to be a bit flat and misshapen around the seam line, where I'm guessing it was ground off. The whole thing is covered with black paint and has a couple deep nicks in the surface that I included in the second photo.
I picked this shell up in an antique store years ago where it was described as pre-Civil War, which would explain why it's not in any reference I have seen, but I was wondering if anyone else has seen one like it and might have any idea how old it is and where it comes from. Thanks for looking.