Help me sort CW relics from miscellaneous junk!

[rhedden]

Back in 2001-3, I took a friend metal detecting at a previously untouched site in central Maryland I had been working for several months, which has some history back to the mid 1700s. There were once several small, crude dwellings in a sheltered area next to a hill, with a stream nearby. I had been digging all sorts of ancient metal objects from around the ruins, which I thankfully saved, but it was on that day that it finally dawned on me that there was quite possibly some Civil War history to the site. I think the little bell went off in my head when I dug the 1851 officer's sword belt plate (E. Pluribus Unum type), followed by the NY officer's coat button. Imagine my friend's surprise when he returned from his car with a soda in-hand, and announced "there's nothing to dig here-let's go." We also dug 1860 & 1865 Indian cents, and an 1865 2-center there at different times. Thankfully, I had been saving all of the non-ferrous relics from the site, not realizing up until that point that it might have CW history. The problem is that the site was "contaminated" with relics from other eras- King George Coppers, a slick 1794 large cent, an 1895 Indian cent, a 1919 Lincoln, and a 2002 vintage McDonald's cup (lol) that I used to mark the site where I found the large cent so I could get back there easily through the thick overgrowth.

I now live in west TX and can't dig great CW-era stuff like this any more. This evening, I got out the container from my garage with all the relics from this site, washed them off, and photographed them. I am no expert in CW era relics, so I would like to "enlist" your help in plucking the CW relics from the others, and identifying their function. Please have a look at the photo below and let me know if you can positively ID any of the relics, whether CW-related or not.

I am quite sure #5, #9, and #15 are CW era relics, but I forget what they are. #1 and #2 are a lead bullet and thin lead plate with ostensible tooth marks on them. #21 may be a 3-ringer that was flattened into a disk to make a gaming counter. #30 is a small piece of a harmonica reed, I think. The bottom row (#32) is various & sundry buttons with no markings. #14 is obviously of Naval origin, but I suspect it is from the WWI era.

Thanks in advance for your comments!

 

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[vayank54]

It's kind of hard to tell some of the stuff from the pic but what I can make out is
5 Adjuster hook to sabre belt. Maybe to your officer's buckle.
10 Part of a colonial shoe buckle
11 Looks like a civil war kepi buckle with the center bar broken out. If it is a kepi buckle it will be very thin.
14 Marine pin WWII or so
26 Part of a union civil war spur
28 Brass rivets probably CW The biggest one went to a sabre belt rig, again maybe to your buckle.
30 Part of a harmonica plate
33 Looks like a lock cover to a capet bag.
35 Looks like the bowl to a pewter spoon.
If you could post bigger pics of the buttons that would help

 

[d2]

No. 13 looks like a piece of the wick holder for a coal oil lamp.
no. 24 looks like some type of finial
no. 26 looks like a part to a spur...d2

 

[vayank54]

Everything that I mentioned before is either civil war or earlier unless I put something different. As d2 said 13 is part of a lantern. It could be civil war but is probably later. The buttons all look like precivil war flat buttons from the late 1700's to the 1830's or so. They are commonly found in both US & CS civil war camps. 21 looks like you said a bullet smashd into a poker chip. It's possible 27, the hinge, is civil war as I have dug them in camps but also in later sites as well.

 

[rhedden]

Thanks very much for sharing your expertise! I will label these and put them together with the belt plate & button. The one that is still bothering me is #15. I attended a South Mountain club meeting some years ago, and a gentleman gave a seminar on identifying Civil War artifacts. #15 was one of the more obscure items he identified, but I cannot remember what he said it is.

I don't live in MD any more, but looking through these rusty relics brings back good memories of digging there. I found my pictures of the belt plate found at the same site, so I'll upload them again even though I've posted them before.

 

[BuckleBoy]

Here are the CW finds that I see:

#5 is a musket sling hook
#22 is a brass wedding band (a common find at both civilian and CW sites from the mid-1800s)
#24 could be a finial off a cartridge box or cap box (?)
vayank is right about the kepi buckle, spur piece, and the larger of the two "rivets" being from a sword belt rig.

I have an excellent button cleaning post in the "Cleaning and Preservation" part of the forum. There might be some goodies in your button finds (#32), but it's hard to tell at this point.


Best Wishes,



Buckleboy

 

[vayank54]

rhedden That's a nice plate
BuckleBoy, No offense but #5 is a belt adjuster hook to a saber belt rig. The adjuster hooks had 3 rivets and a triangular shaped end while, as far as I know, all the sling hooks were straight and had 2 rivets

 

[BuckleBoy]

rhedden That's a nice plate
BuckleBoy, No offense but #5 is a belt adjuster hook to a saber belt rig. The adjuster hooks had 3 rivets and a triangular shaped end while, as far as I know, all the sling hooks were straight and had 2 rivets

No offense taken. You're 100% correct. I didn't look closely enough the first time.


Best Wishes,


Buckles

 

[vayank54]

Cool
now back to Iding stuff

 

[savinghist]

hey i live in md i have my own web site. carrollcountyartifasts.com. i would like to know where your site is if you are willing. thanks robby

 

[BuckleBoy]

hey i live in md i have my own web site. carrollcountyartifasts.com. i would like to know where your site is if you are willing. thanks robby

Do you have Dealer Status on this forum?

I wanted to let you know that you mis-spelled your website name in this reply. I'm assuming that it is spelled correctly in your other 9 replies you've made so far, since you mentioned your website in all of those replies too.

-Buck

 

[DirtyMike]

#7 looks like a sword pommel.

 

[Adventure Wolf]

27 is a door hinge