🥇 BANNER Very Scarce MODEL 1839 MEXICAN WAR Officers Shoulder Belt Plate (Variant)

{Sentinel} · Oct 13, 2014

Hey Guys, this plate was quite a surprise!...I was recently digging an old Dragoons/Cavalry camp that served as an important post during the 1850's and the Civil War...I had a few Eagles in the pouch including some Eagle "D"s but hadn't dug anything a little while. I was going along and had just dug 3 crushed cans in the previous few minutes when I got another signal hitting exactly the same. I popped a plug out alittle quick and haphazardly expecting it to be another crushed flat can but when I popped the plug over something was thrown into the air and was flipping and then landed on the toe of my boot....when I looked down I had to take a double take as I saw 3 perfectly spaced hooks on the back of a rectangular plate....and when I turned it over I was quite surprised with an rare and beautiful plate....this plate is shown in photos as it was dug and is fully gilted though I have refrained from cleaning it other than dry brushing it to remove dirt and buildup. I will keep it in this condition with the patina out of preference as it has a pretty dusty red patina to it. If I were to clean it though, it has all the gilt underneath as well as the German Silvered Wreath and U.S. letters. Definitely one of the best surprise signals in quite sometime and a plate every bit as rare to dig and even more so in many cases, as a Confederate Plate. We see Confederate plates dug quite frequently but you don't see these plates dug very often....definitely one of the finest ive dug and certainly so for a U.S. plate.