1700's Silver! Part of an Ornate Silver Plated Shoe Buckle Frame!

[FreeBirdTim]

Been a few years since I found any 1700's silver, but I found some today (sort of). Got an 87 signal at the base of a very large oak tree. Dug down about 6 inches and pulled out part of a silver plated shoe buckle frame! Man, this buckle is so ornate and beautiful! I'd kill to find the rest of it, but I'll have to settle for this piece for now.

Also found a saddle shield in the same area. Not sure how old, but it's the first one I've ever found. There's a design on it, but hard to see, due to the patina flaking off when it dried. A very good day today!

Here's a few pics:

 

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[Relicific]

Nice silver find

 

[Molewacker]

Oh my, sweet find!

 

[Rick (Nova Scotia)]

Are you sure that is what it is, I can't see a hinge pin hole ?(the second picture) Maybe it is there, I just don't see it.

 

[Hawks88]

That is a real nice silver buckle. Congrats!

 

[Shakakka]

Could be a silver-washed shoe buckle piece, but like someone else said I don't see the pinhole where the hinge would go. For an example, here's a similar piece of one I found - also washed in silver - with the hole intact:




Could be a silver-washed ornamental handle or something? It's an awesome 1700's find anyway!

 

[FreeBirdTim]

Are you sure that is what it is, I can't see a hinge pin hole ?(the second picture) Maybe it is there, I just don't see it.

It does kind of look like a drawer handle, but it's definitely a shoe buckle frame. Here's a side view photo after I cleaned it up. The pin hole goes completely through the frame.

It's very large and heavy, so it must have belonged to a big guy!

 

[Shakakka]

NICE! Good shot of the hole, that seals the deal. Yeah, mine's heavy too. It's so cool how they washed the tops so they looked nice, even when the rest of it was brass. Couldn't afford solid silver buckles, or maybe the metal would've been too soft to endure.

Also SOOOOOO cool how everything back then was hand-engraved, all those little scoops and holes and scrapes and details. Both in yours and mine.

 

[villagenut]

I really like that one, you are on some good sites.

 

[FreeBirdTim]

Also SOOOOOO cool how everything back then was hand-engraved, all those little scoops and holes and scrapes and details. Both in yours and mine.

Yup, they were skilled craftsmen back in those days who took pride in their work...

 

[Rick (Nova Scotia)]

It does kind of look like a drawer handle, but it's definitely a shoe buckle frame. Here's a side view photo after I cleaned it up. The pin hole goes completely through the frame.

It's very large and heavy, so it must have belonged to a big guy!


View attachment 1588326

Thanks Tim, like I said just didn't see the holes before.
And it would have been awesome for sure complete. Frankly a complete shoe buckle is in my top 3 wish list. Still.

 

[Professor of Engineering]

Very nice finds!

 

[FreeBirdTim]

And it would have been awesome for sure complete

I'd be happy to just find all the pieces! So annoying to find part of a buckle and never find the rest of it. Where did the missing pieces go?

I'll be going back there for weeks trying to find the rest of it, but I'll bet I'll never find even one more piece.