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Dutch bronze breech-loading swivel cannon and matching breech-block, both marked NB (very rare as a

Currency:USD Category:Artifacts / Shipwreck Artifacts Start Price:12,000.00 USD Estimated At:15,000.00 - 30,000.00 USD
Dutch bronze breech-loading swivel cannon and matching breech-block, both marked NB (very rare as a
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This item SOLD at 2013 Oct 30 @ 21:18UTC-4 : AST/EDT
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Dutch bronze breech-loading swivel cannon and matching breech-block, both marked NB (very rare as a matching pair). Cannon: 185 lb av, 45" long and diameter up to 7"; breech-block: 34-1/2 lb av, 8-1/2" long and diameter up to 4". Shipwreck bronze cannons are rather scarce overall, and small ones like this that are a manageable size and weight are in high demand. What you never see is a matching set of cannon and breech-block like we have here (the block actually found inside the cannon on site), proven by the fit and the markings, which consist of the letters N and B (possibly for Nederlandse Brons = Netherlands Bronze) separated by an odd-shaped ornament, the marking on the cannon also below a cross of Jerusalem and on a raised shield-shaped crest. The breech-block also has a star-shaped mark on the touch-hole, as if to point out where it is to the gunner, and is slightly lighter (brassier) in color than the cannon itself, which measures 6-1/2" across the muzzle, 3" bore and 9" trunnion to trunnion, also with slots behind the breech to hold the block in place and with hole at cascabel end for receiving a tiller handle. Both pieces are completely conserved on the exterior but bear coral encrustation on the inside. From an unidentified 1500s-1600s wreck off Santo Domingo, with Global Marine Exploration photo-certificates #SW00340 and 534. Recovered from: Unidentified 1500s-1600s wrecks off Santo Domingo