A $6 million salvaged cannon, is this for real?!?

[EnronX]

While searching through lists of Andrea Doria artifacts on Ebay I came across this fascinating auction, a "2000 lb Platinum Cannon" recovered from the Bahamas.

$6m is a staggering amount of money...I'm just not familiar with any other auctions of this nature. Can an historical cannon really be worth such a high price? I'm also curious if the winning bidder may actually consider melting down the artifact for it's metallurgical value?

Any ideas or insight?

http://cgi.ebay.com/2000-lb-Platinu...386060547QQcategoryZ66638QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

 

[Snowbear]

Looking at the picture, it doesn't look like a real cannon. Interesting, but unless it's a replica, were/are cannons really made from platinum?

If the linoleum it's resting on is typical, each square is about 12"X12"... which would make this item ~ 4 1/2' long. I don't know much about cannons, but that seems small.

 

[Diver Dennis]

Here is a little blurb I found...

In Reply to: Platinum Cannon Found in Shipwreck
posted by DarkPrizm on November 11, 2002 at 20:43:09

DarkPrizm I don't know of the article you had read however I can tell you that the "junk" metal that was skimmed off could not have been platinum.The meltong temp. of pure gold(24K) is approx: 1063degrees C= 3533 F, platinum has a melting temp. of approx:1768 degrees C= 5816F a melting temp difference of approx: 2283 degrees F. If any metal were to be skimmed off it would have been the gold. Also I question whether or not they would have been able to generate the amount of heat required to cast platinum or forge it.Platinum is very hard on cutting tools,files and milling bits. Making it a very hard metal to work with. It is very dense due to its purity and has a much higher specific gravity than gold. Finding a wooden ship that could withstand the weight of platinum cannons on her deck would also be amazing. It is possible that the cannons could have been very small in size but not manufactured in the aforementioned method. I hope this helps answer some of your questions. Tom Carter/ Jewelry Designer,gold&platinumsmith and enthusiastic novice treasure hunter!!!!!

 

[ChrisSoutherly]

No one would use platinum or gold for a cannon. Too valuable. That was the motivation for switching from bronze to iron once castting technology improved. The copper was too valuable.

 

[ArchDiver]

I smell a fake.