Old buckle

[J_leiser]

Hi, just wondering if anyone can date this buckle, thanks!

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[dg39]

A measurement would help the buckle guys...
Thanks
DG

[J_leiser]

Sorry its about 4" long and 2 1/4" tall

[timekiller]

Horse harness buckle much like the one in the site below.
Take Care,
Pete,
Antique Horse Harness Buckle Tack Center Post (Metalware-Bronze) at Great Expectations Antiques

[J_leiser]

Thanks for the reply, this buckle is hand cast iron though.

[creskol]

Thanks for the reply, this buckle is hand cast iron though.

How do you know that it is hand cast? Also, please verify its dimensions again.

[ticm]

Hi, just wondering if anyone can date this buckle, thanks!

<img src="http://www.treasurenet.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=650181"/>

Hard to say. It's horse tack.

[timekiller]

I'm with Creskol,on how do you know it's hand cast?Creskol is good with horse tack items I've seen in the past,he did not say it wasn't so that's still my best guess.Being as big as you say it is.It's made much like what is called a Conway Buckle other then the bar on the back.That bar would had been a looped piece of strap around it.Then the tighting strap would have gone through the other part to cinch down or tighten.Rather it was for a harness or saddle or gurth strap,ETC.Still think it's horse related.Also I don't hunt sites much over 1850 for the most part and I've never found one like it.So in my eyes I don't think it would date much earlier (could be wrong).Anyway here are a couple pics. below to see how one like it would have worked (other then the tongue lock piece,yours being a stud)
Take Care,
Pete,

[diggummup]

Thanks for the reply, this buckle is hand cast iron though.

What is "hand cast iron"? The phrase itself is an oxymoron. Perhaps you meant hand forged? And I don't see any evidence of that in your photos.

[J_leiser]

Hi, thank you for your replies. I apologize I did mean hand "forged". The sight we are excavating is a pre civil war cabin that was homesteaded sometime before the blackhawk war in northern illinois. The sight has been abandoned for over 100 years and I was just wondering if anyone had seen this style of buckle before. Attached is a picture of a smaller buckle that was dug within a foot of the larger one. The size is roughly 1 inch long and 1/2 inch tall. Thanks

[Bigcypresshunter]

Yea I agree its definitely a horse buckle. I think they are both horse buckles.

[kuger]

Yep,commonly used to this day on tack such as breast collars.I am not sure how far back they date to,but as Pete said,I have never dug one in a pre 1860's site

[creskol]

Yep,commonly used to this day on tack such as breast collars.I am not sure how far back they date to,but as Pete said,I have never dug one in a pre 1860's site

While the style of that buckle may seem rather common, the massive size of it is quite unusual.

[timekiller]

For me is not the size so much as a exact match. I can find plenty of harness buckles that size & larger.But just can't find that match with the extra bar strap.

[creskol]

For me is not the size so much as a exact match. I can find plenty of harness buckles that size & larger.But just can't find that match with the extra bar strap.

All I am saying is, for that "style" buckle, that size is unusual.