🥇 BANNER Very Rare (1 in 5000) M1819 Shoulder Belt Plate

Isaac

Hero Member
Oct 11, 2013
773
1,335
Fairfax, Virginia
🥇 Banner finds
3
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Whites MXT All Pro, Garrett AT Pro
Primary Interest:
Relic Hunting
My friend Lucas and I hunted a site a week or so ago that we hunted last April and he found a great conditioned SC button and a lockplate there previously and I walked away with a handful of mostly Confederate bullets as well as an 1863 Indian head cent some colonial relics and homesite relics scattered in the mix. The history of this site shows that it was close to a small battle atop a hill, there was also a small colonial house site there which was the main reason we wanted to try it. We think it was used as a camp or hospital site before and after the battle. It had signs of both Union and Confederate occupation. We stopped back there and were greeted by the incredible and hospitible homeowners.

The first thing Lucas finds, less than 15 minutes in, is a musket lockplate from a m1842 .69 caliber rifle and shortly after that he finds a beautiful carbine sling buckle! The carbine sling buckle was on both of our bucket lists!

I had nothing at this point but eventually started finding a few bullets and then quickly got into a small patch with some very nice dandy buttons in the mix. The finds started thinning out and we decided to hit another part of the site which looked promising. My first target in this area was a New York button and we kept finding bullets and various early brass targets. We stayed in this area for a little while and then I decided to venture into another part of the yard and there was not much in it, but there was one lone keeper... and it was a really good one. I had no idea what it was at the time, which was a good thing. It turned out to be a Model 1819 shoudler belt plate. Apparently this is one of only 5,000 ever produced!!! This was produced in 1819 and used from 1819-1828 by George Armitage for the U.S. militia. There's a high chance that plate could've been used by a Confederate soldier.

After that discover, we continued to find a plentiful amount of colonial, victorian, and Civil War finds until it got dark. Other finds included a total of 13 bullets, several of which were altered or carved by soldiers, the back of a US General Service, a New York state button, part of a “J-hook” from a soldiers knapsack, an epaulette scale, the handle of a small knife or possibly a fleam, a WWI collar disk, a hem weight, a clip on earring with a glass face, a harmonica reed, three late 1700s flat buttons, portion of a mid 1700s tombac spoon, and some other miscellaneous colonial objects.

Thanks for looking and happy hunting!

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Upvote 86

treblehunter

Gold Member
Jun 18, 2013
9,675
11,295
New Jersey
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Minelab Excalibur II
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Garrett pro pointer
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Sweet finds, great hunt! Congrats!
 

OP
OP
Isaac

Isaac

Hero Member
Oct 11, 2013
773
1,335
Fairfax, Virginia
🥇 Banner finds
3
Detector(s) used
Whites MXT All Pro, Garrett AT Pro
Primary Interest:
Relic Hunting
Why would a Confederate soldier wear a Union plate?

A lot of Confederate soldiers didn't have supplies readily made for them so they would've had a dearth of accoutrements such as belt plates, so they would've used what they had at home.

What an incredible hunt man, watching you flip over that plate was a priceless moment! Can’t wait to get back there :)

All thanks to you man, this is a site we will never forget and I'm so glad we've gotten the oppurtunity to dig it together. This is one of those sites that makes you wonder and try to tell a story about what exactly happened here. It's been a blast digging with you for the past several years and this was no exception. Thanks for being such a great hunting partner and I hope life makes it so we can continue to hunt together as we get older.

Way to get up top dude, tough to do these days. You deserve it.

Good research and patience almost always produce interesting finds! :notworthy:

Congratulations on achieving your 4th Tnet BANNER Isaac!

Dave

Very nice! Congratulations on another Virginia banner find!

Sweet plate - never seen that variety dug before, well deserved BANNER!

Congratualtions on the killer CW historical find and a well deserved Banner! :occasion14:

I am greener than that belt plate....with envy Congrats on the well deserved banner

Thanks so much everyone for the nice comments, I am so enthralled with the BANNER nominations from everyone, it really means a lot to see it up top amongst all of those other incredible finds up there!
 

OP
OP
Isaac

Isaac

Hero Member
Oct 11, 2013
773
1,335
Fairfax, Virginia
🥇 Banner finds
3
Detector(s) used
Whites MXT All Pro, Garrett AT Pro
Primary Interest:
Relic Hunting
Great find! Banner for sure!

So are you framing that thing or what? What a beauty!!!:occasion14:

Great find,congratulations!

Sweeeeet find!!! Congrats [emoji323]

Awesome haul. Congrats!

Absolutely beautiful save. Congrats

Sweet finds, great hunt! Congrats!

Thank you all so much for the compliments and comments! HH :)
 

Steve in PA

Gold Member
Jul 5, 2010
9,580
14,109
Pittsburgh, PA
🥇 Banner finds
4
Detector(s) used
Fisher F75, XP Deus, Equinox 600, Fisher 1270
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Fantastic find Isaac. Congrats on the banner. You manage to get on some great sites and that is confirmed by your finds :thumbsup:
 

Dust Eater

Sr. Member
Apr 15, 2015
270
1,126
MASATHVSETS
🥇 Banner finds
2
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XP Deus
Primary Interest:
Metal Detecting
Killing it with the banners man! Spectacular plate and glad it made it out of the ground in one piece. :occasion14:
 

WYO_Yote

Jr. Member
Jul 2, 2018
28
155
Wyoming
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XP Deus
Garrett AT Pro
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Great Finds! Question on one of your finds...

Again great finds.

Have you been able to identify what the strap is or was used for?

I have a site that I detect in, have found loads of shell casings, a Calvary button, an 1872 Shield Nickel and many other notable items. However, I keep turning up the slotted copper traps; one of the straps has the letter "B" on the end. Ive attached some photos of my finds.

Any info would be appreciated.
 

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relic nut

Silver Member
Nov 29, 2014
4,000
7,275
VA
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1
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Minelab CTX 3030 TELEKINETICS 4000 GARRET AT PRO
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Those are harmonica reeds. The B is probably the key
 

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