For the Colonial New England "relic" gurus...

[CTwoods]

For the Colonial New England "relic" guru's...

Scrambling to choose the best spot in case winter arrives; I went yesterday and today to a well known big cellar/mill, barn damsite on town property, 5 minutes from home.

There has been dug iron all over this huge site for decades, but I always find many non ferrous targets missed or ignored by the high tone Big Copper skimmers.

Late yesterday, I found this "burn pile" of bricks and charcoal. Don't know what it was, or how it got piled in two spots, but an inch or two down, got a broken Tombac...so it shows the entire site may be at least 1700s. Brought a clam rake and a 5" coil setup today, but the pile froze solid over night!

Tried to find a remote field across the road that shows as pasture in the 1934 Aerial Photo online. Never found "the old field", but the stonewalls looked better even farther out. Don't have a GPS to find my way back out so I went back to do a last run on the cellar side again.

Got this escutcheon at quitting time. Figured it would be a factory stamped brass sheet type from somewhere in the last part of 1800's, until I cleaned it. Took a few minutes to spot the design of the two side flowers were not the same, then realized it is totally handmade and a tube shape punch was used to make two sizes of circles, and the half circles by holding the punch crooked.

I sanded it to bring out the detail and it is not brass; I think it is a Tombac type zinc alloy, as it is not a yellow brass color, nor a copper color.

two nail heads are rusted in place. I suppose it could be for furniture, but I am thinking a small lock-box for sugar, coffee or tobacco? IDK

No idea how to date it, but it must be colonial IMO, and could go way back as the site is within 2 miles of the original 1670 village

I have two unusual whatzits from the burnpile that I will clean and post later in ID.

I was having a pretty downer day till I got home to clean my stuff. I am pretty happy with this find

 

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[The Rebel]

Very interesting indeed. I found this a few years back.

 

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[CRUSADER]

Very interesting indeed. I found this a few years back.

Yes those are the more common types that many of us find. I get no/few whole ones, so never kept many.

 

[CTwoods]

Very interesting indeed. I found this a few years back.

Wow, thanks for putting that one up. Same type of hand stamping tooling for sure.....and...found in the same State of Connecticut.

I don't find much as far as very early relics, so I have never seen these hand punched things before....and now that I have, I will start looking at some dandy buttons

I just wish there was a way to ever know which country or which exact timeframe these escutcheons and dandys originated.

 

[johnnyblaze]

Hey CTWOODS your not gonna believe this but i got some old CT Colonial period relic books today and guess what....

Congrats on A 17th century Connecticut chest plate

~Blaze

 

[CRUSADER]

Hey CTWOODS your not gonna believe this but i got some old CT Colonial period relic books today and guess what....

Congrats on A 17th century Connecticut chest plate

~Blaze

Good spot.

Although I have no problem believing this piece to be 17th C, this picture comes with a health warning.
Furniture makers brought there hardware, so this piece could have been manufactured anywhere.
Also, any furniture expert will tell you, the hardware is one of the most commonly changed or added pieces as fashions change, so date is not assured.
Observation:
The keyhole in the wood is not present & they only used 2 of the 4 fixing holes.

 

[against the wind]

Steel would have given you lots of rust,, looks non-ferrous.
Excellent find and research.
Congrats.

 

[CTwoods]

Hey CTWOODS your not gonna believe this but i got some old CT Colonial period relic books today and guess what....

Congrats on A 17th century Connecticut chest plate

~Blaze

Thanks Blaze, for taking the time to look for my old thread. I honestly don't find a ton of good stuff, so this piece is one of my best finds... in my mind. 1700s stuff is not rare here, but never found anything that perhaps could nick the 1600s. I'm very happy you found that match.


I see what Crusader meant about 'two holes used, and wood not cut out for a key' I went back and found the exact filled hole where I found it, hoping that because the nails were still in it, maybe I'd find the lock guts. Found nothing.

I will dig the burn piles on this site in spring; they are pretty far from where I got it, but there are things in it that did not burn.

EDIT:

Although I have no problem believing this piece to be 17th C, this picture comes with a health warning.
Furniture makers brought there hardware, so this piece could have been manufactured anywhere.
Also, any furniture expert will tell you, the hardware is one of the most commonly changed or added pieces as fashions change, so date is not assured.
.

Connecticut was at one time the leader or capital of brass manufacturing, but I'd need to see how far back. As far as changing brass hardware on a furniture, I believe this was done to modernize an older chest to make it more desirable looking?

I'm hoping I may find a matching drawer pull (shown in Blazes picture) in the pile of burned structure, and not all in that pile shows to be exposed to fire. Can't hurt to try