My Shang-Ri-La, Hole In One, White Whale, Royal Flush, Bestest Ever Find Ever!,, OM

[BigWaveDave]

I’ve got two Banner Finds under my belt, and while I’m forever grateful for the luck and blessings of those finds....Ain’t gonna lie, this crushes them.
Slumming around small towns here in Mountain Maryland, looking for permissions, striking out left and right, I headed out to a sure beep. A long ago bull-dozed lot, has some history, but loaded with trash, I find this on the surface, before I coiled it...

She’s all pretty and green, 1899 Indian! Sweet!
But lots of trash, a few wheats, time to bounce.
I see this neighbor guy watching me, so I head over to brag about my my finds....permission for his 1880 house?, Granted!
So I’m bopping along, scratching out copper roofing shards, modern clad, and the occasional relics.... keys, locks, drawer pulls... garbage I happily gave to the owner as a Thank You for the permission.
Then, WOW! Something I’ve never found before... a wax seal,
the letter N .... Perfect for the long-time owner of the mansion....I’m keeping this!


So I’m conflicted, I finally find something totally awesome, but I’m keeping it on the down-low, cuz I don’t wanna give it away.

Can’t believe there’s no silver, gotta be something here....

So I’ve covered 95% of the turf, getting tired, gotta pee...getting late
.
Then this happened.



Never, ever, did I ever expect to pull this from a residential lawn in Western Maryland...
South of the Mason Dixon Line, so this has gotta be Civ in the hole, right?

I screamed like a school girl, candy-danced like a teen on TikTok, and am still losing my friggin mind.
Whacked by a mower blade, or plow? Bent? Crusty? You bet! But she’s mine.... in all of her historical glory....

Experts weigh in.... US buckles have only ever been things I’ve read about, never dreamed of finding.

 

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[ironhorse]

Awesome cartridge box plate!
Relics rule!

 

[Silvermonkey]

That surely is one AMAZING find BWD! Your post ( especially the title) says it all. Major Congrats to you!
PS- I think I would have peed my pants if I saw that beauty sitting n the hole...especially if I already needed to ...you know....go.

 

[smokeythecat]

Way to go. What a lot of people don't realize is the soldiers brought a lot of stuff home, and eventually tossed it out back or gave it to the kids to play with, at which point it got lost. My best Confederate buckle was found out back of a house with absolutely no history of CW action or encampment. Most of my CW good items have come from long gone houses, near rail lines or near old roads. Very few from camp sites and battlefields.

 

[BigWaveDave]

Way to go. What a lot of people don't realize is the soldiers brought a lot of stuff home, and eventually tossed it out back or gave it to the kids to play with, at which point it got lost. My best Confederate buckle was found out back of a house with absolutely no history of CW action or encampment. Most of my CW good items have come from long gone houses, near rail lines or near old roads. Very few from camp sites and battlefields.

Turns out, there was Civil War history at this location.... Troops marched right through here.

 

[Mudflap]

Fantastic!

 

[ticndig]

some of the marks on the back look like more than plow strikes. blow the pic up and take a look . seems like letters to me. D H Z .
great find .

 

[smokeythecat]

Yes, keep rotating the back of the plate. It also looks like some scribbles there along with damage from other sources.

 

[ARC]

Super Dave.

Well done... now go back ASAP.

 

[smokeythecat]

Duh, I forgot that part. Go back and see about neighboring properties also. Been a rough week.

 

[Blak bart]

WHOOO hoooo.....nice dave, that is incredible, especially way up there !! Congrats !!

 

[ArfieBoy]

Nice finds! Not any of those kind of finds here in the Pacific Northwest.

 

[Steve in PA]

Nice cartridge box plate Dave. Let's of troops passed through western Maryland, especially on the national road. I agree with others. The markings on the back look intentional.

 

[Professor of Engineering]

Congratulations on the killer hunt! That plate is fantastic!

 

[insontis]

Love the way I scrolled through this on my small phone screen. At first I was like, "man he's real excited over that IH.. I mean it's a great find and all.."

Then I see the wax seal and I'm thinking oh okay maybe those are super rare..

..and THEN the buckle. Now I get it.

Excellent start to a new hunting ground! Can't wait to see what you dig up next!

 

[The Aluminum Monster]

Fantastic find! I love how excited you are about this. It definitely conveys well through the computer. Just awesome!

 

[CalReg]

Very nice!

 

[tnt-hunter]

A big congratulations Dave. I have been swingin my detector here in mountain Maryland for 18 years, including civil war camps and the site of a minor battle and a fort in West Virginia and have not found a civil war belt buckle or box plate. Way to go Dave! Welcome to the neighborhood you lucky guy. Stay safe and keep swingin.

 

[tinpan]

Way to go. What a lot of people don't realize is the soldiers brought a lot of stuff home, and eventually tossed it out back or gave it to the kids to play with, at which point it got lost. My best Confederate buckle was found out back of a house with absolutely no history of CW action or encampment. Most of my CW good items have come from long gone houses, near rail lines or near old roads. Very few from camp sites and battlefields.

Hi Smokie , Well said Australian farms are the same wars going back 200 years. My WW 1 finds would make few eyes drop out . Lucky to find as many goods as this post. TP

 

[relicmeister]

Very happy for you, BWD. So awesome to make a find you never thought you would ever make. But it’s the very possibility of that that is the fuel that drives us to do what we do.
Congrats