Shoulder Belt Plate and Militia Hat Plate

[aloldstuff]

I don't normally post on this forum but I felt that with these two finds I really should. By no means do I consider myself a relic hunter, meaning that I do not intentionally go out with the mind set of finding relics. I really like to find coins and that is what drives me in this hobby. I like to find them and also to read about others finds. Can't tell you how many times I would read a post about a spectacular coin and say to myself "someday".

Late August I went to a house that I have hunted before. It's from the 1700's and basically all that I have found there are coins. Well not this night. I got a nice repeatable signal on the V3i about 8" down and dug. When I got it out of the hole I knew that it was something special but I had no idea what it was. Well it turns out to be a Militia Hat Plate circa 1836. Sad thing was it was missing its head. Once I found out what it was I contacted Leonard Short and arranged for the restoration. Haven't gotten it back yet but I can't wait to see the end result.

Now on Labor Day I set out to find my 50th silver coin for the year. Seeing that it was gonna be my 50th I wanted something special. So I decided to go to another 1700's house out of town. I figured that at that location my chances of getting a special silver were better than at a park. Well I didn't get my 50th but I did find something really good. It's a shoulder belt plate from the rev war or shortly thereafter. It has some script writing on the front which I am trying to decipher. It's definately a name.

In my 5 years of being a detectorist I have managed to get a very nice militia belt plate,( WE&T Best finds 2008) an early Commonwealth button, the hat plate and now the shoulder belt plate. Once I get the hat plate back I will be able to create a nice framed display for the foyer.

Thanks for reading and if anybody wants to take a stab at the name on the shoulder belt plate feel free to chime in.

 

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[hogge]

Maybe you can figure out the name under magnification. Really nice relic though! Congrats................Hogge

 

[umrgolf]

Outstanding finds! let us know what you come up with for a name

 

[Iron Patch]

To me the front (and back) seems more typical of a trunk plate, but hope it's not. If I had dug it the first thing I'd do is find out if those attachments are consistent with shoulder plates, and if not, probably widen my search for the ID.

 

[RiverRat3]

Very nice finds. These finds may turn you into a relic hunter. Good luck on your 50th silver!

 

[CRUSADER]

UK Finds Database - - - UKDFD
UK Finds Database - - - UKDFD
UK Finds Database - - - UKDFD

If found in the UK, it looks similar to the above, although the orientation is different. What is clear is that it went on leather, but what the leather was attached to is what you need to know.

 

[JanThorCro]

Really nice, Smoley Hokes.