Earnings and Dividends Per Share (Details) (USD $) In Millions, except Share data, unless otherwise specified	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2014	Mar. 31, 2013
Earnings and Dividends Per Share
Net earnings attributable to Ball Corporation	$ 93.5	$ 72.0
Basic weighted average common shares	140,405,000	148,976,000
Effect of dilutive securities (in shares)	3,653,000	3,340,000
Weighted average shares applicable to diluted earnings per share	144,058,000	152,316,000
Per basic share (in dollars per share)	$ 0.67	$ 0.48
Per diluted share (in dollars per share)	$ 0.65	$ 0.47
Number of outstanding options excluded from computation of diluted earnings per share	1,400,000	1,400,000
Dividends declared (in dollars per share)	$ 0.13	$ 0.13
Dividends paid (in dollars per share)	$ 0.13	$ 0.13