Musket or Gun Piece? Key. 1683 Mass Property

btjbtj

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Good evening, friends. John dug for an hour after work today and found this really neat looking brass piece, which we think might be a gun part. What do you all think? Then again, it could be something completely different like a window lock or other mundane thing.There's also a key which he found in the same hole as the alleged gun piece. The key has writing on it: W Bohannon, Brooklyn, NY. I haven't had a chance to Google that yet, but I will in a few minutes. Thanks for looking, as always. -Lisa & John
 

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Last edited:
Upvote 7

Fullstock

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Not sure what it is, but i don't believe it's a gun part. Sorry.
 

smokeythecat

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Looks 19th century, it's too finely made for something earlier.
 

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btjbtj

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Not sure what it is, but i don't believe it's a gun part. Sorry.

No problem! It is neat looking, but who knows. Maybe I should have posted it in the "What Is It" forum. Thanks for looking. -L&J
 

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btjbtj

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Looks 19th century, it's too finely made for something earlier.

A smart assessment, Smokey. We have a 19th century Thingamajig! ;-) Thanks for your thoughts. -L&J
 

JccEldreth

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The key is to a pad lock. Not to sure on the other, maybe lock related. I have found three w.w.& co. Brooklen NY Pad locks, but no keys, we should get together! Lol.
 

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btjbtj

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The key is to a pad lock. Not to sure on the other, maybe lock related. I have found three w.w.& co. Brooklen NY Pad locks, but no keys, we should get together! Lol.

Jcc-- funny! Maybe if we keep digging in the same hole, we'll find the safe that the key and the mystery piece go to. Ha ha. Thanks for looking. -L&J
 

KENTUCKYWONDER

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Very nice digs, congratulations! That one brass piece reminds me of a rivet tool for leather. But that is just a guess.
 

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btjbtj

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Very nice digs, congratulations! That one brass piece reminds me of a rivet tool for leather. But that is just a guess.

That could be it! There once was a 50-stall barn on the property and the home served as a stagecoach tavern, so maybe it was a tool used for making or repairing saddles, etc. Thanks for chiming in! -L&J
 

Gridwalker306

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That looks like a railroad switch key. Not sure what the other thing is, nice digs
 

OutdoorAdv

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That item was very unique. It was obviously a small punch for something. After googling around for a while, a search term of "antique thumb punch" finally landed me an image and a proper search term.

It's a... Train Conductor Finger Punch

Antique-Vintage-Train-Railroad-Ticket-Punch-1930s.jpg

Vintage-Antique-Cast-Iron-Ticket-Railroad-Train-Conductor.jpg

https://picclick.com/Antique-Vintage-Train-Railroad-Ticket-Punch-1930s-182470823799.html

Pretty cool and unique item. Glad to see you guys digging and posting again. Looking forward to the next one.
 

Gridwalker306

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That item was very unique. It was obviously a small punch for something. After googling around for a while, a search term of "antique thumb punch" finally landed me an image and a proper search term.

It's a... Train Conductor Finger Punch

View attachment 1442196

View attachment 1442197

https://picclick.com/Antique-Vintage-Train-Railroad-Ticket-Punch-1930s-182470823799.html

Pretty cool and unique item. Glad to see you guys digging and posting again. Looking forward to the next one.

Nice ID, you nailed it.
 

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btjbtj

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Aug 27, 2016
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Massachusetts
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That item was very unique. It was obviously a small punch for something. After googling around for a while, a search term of "antique thumb punch" finally landed me an image and a proper search term.

It's a... Train Conductor Finger Punch

View attachment 1442196

View attachment 1442197

https://picclick.com/Antique-Vintage-Train-Railroad-Ticket-Punch-1930s-182470823799.html

Pretty cool and unique item. Glad to see you guys digging and posting again. Looking forward to the next one.

Brad--you're amazing! Never in a million years would we have guessed that one! So we know that the property served as a stagecoach tavern, but no idea how a train ticket punch would show up. Bizzarre and cool. Thanks for your research Brad. Hope you had a good winter, and we look forward to another great season of detecting! -L&J
 

against the wind

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Wow,, what great research,, who would have thought?
Congrats on some really cool finds. Did a railroad run through your property?
 

OutdoorAdv

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Brad--you're amazing! Never in a million years would we have guessed that one! So we know that the property served as a stagecoach tavern, but no idea how a train ticket punch would show up. Bizzarre and cool. Thanks for your research Brad. Hope you had a good winter, and we look forward to another great season of detecting! -L&J

Thank you Lisa :occasion14: I should have added in that comment that the punch was used by a train conductor to punch a customers ticket on the train. It was late, and I hit "submit" and went to bed. ha
 

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btjbtj

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Aug 27, 2016
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Massachusetts
Detector(s) used
Garrett AT Pro with NEL Big Coil DD. Garrett Pro-Pointer Plus.
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Metal Detecting
Thank you Lisa :occasion14: I should have added in that comment that the punch was used by a train conductor to punch a customers ticket on the train. It was late, and I hit "submit" and went to bed. ha

No problem, Brad-- we kind of assumed that anyway. Mystery solved! Thanks again, -L&J
 

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btjbtj

Bronze Member
Aug 27, 2016
1,546
1,412
Massachusetts
Detector(s) used
Garrett AT Pro with NEL Big Coil DD. Garrett Pro-Pointer Plus.
Primary Interest:
Metal Detecting
Wow,, what great research,, who would have thought?
Congrats on some really cool finds. Did a railroad run through your property?

Hi there, apparently there is an old railroad track about half a mile from the property, but nothing close by. It's really just a mystery. We know the property was a stagecoach Tavern, but I have no idea when they started making these hole punches for trains. Going to do a bit of research today. Thanks for looking! -L&J
 

moosescout

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Maybe it was used to punch Stagecoach tickets. Pretty cool either way.
 

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