Shoe buckle, Connecticut copper, giant crotal and more

[Z.K.]

Hey fellow t-netters

Back in the woods! What a great day. I was digging through a crust of snow in a few shady spots, but it was a balmy 38, the ticks have died down, rifle hunting is over, and I unearthed my first shoe buckle! This looks colonial to me, but as it is my first I'm tentative to call it. Anyone care to weigh in? Advice on restoration? It looks to have some nice detail under the crust, but I'm not messing with it for now at least.

The crotal is a monstrous beauty! Haven't been able to find a C makers mark match in searching thus far, but I am so pleased.

I actually scored the coin straight away, followed by the shoe frame. Something looked off (in a good way) about the kgii-ish left facing bust. It is pretty fragged, but I've got a definite "et lib" from about 2-4 o'clock on the reverse that my camera can't seem to capture that well, making this my 3rd connie!

The smaller "paris" buckle and double gilt button are nice, but the little brassy tab that I -almost- put in my junk pouch seemed to have some kind of detail, so I decided to have a closer look at home. What a delight to see what was underneath the grime! I've never seen one of these before. Any ideas?

Hope the day treated you all well, too. Thanks for reading and hh out there.

 

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[bearbqd]

Great finds, good job on saving them

 

[pepperj]

That's a big one for sure, too bad the other side is missing the number, still it'll display well. Nice going on the buckles and the copper looks like there's some good digging where you went.

 

[Loco-Digger]

WTG Zulu Kilo, looks like you had a great day in those woods. I'm still looking for my first of all those digs except for the ring in the lower left. Nice saves.

 

[Z.K.]

That's a big one for sure, too bad the other side is missing the number, still it'll display well. Nice going on the buckles and the copper looks like there's some good digging where you went.

Thanks pepperj. I wondered about that missing side. I had only dug a partial one before...one more puzzle to solve.

 

[Z.K.]

WTG Zulu Kilo, looks like you had a great day in those woods. I'm still looking for my first of all those digs except for the ring in the lower left. Nice saves.

Ha! That's hilarious, my grandmother used to call me Kilo-Echo, my first and middle initials.

Never fear, you keep hoovering up all the silver and Indians like you have been, and I'm sure your bucket list is going to be pretty small in short order. With your persistence nothing buried in Ohio has a chance.

 

[Loco-Digger]

Ha! That's hilarious, my grandmother used to call me Kilo-Echo, my first and middle initials.

Never fear, you keep hoovering up all the silver and Indians like you have been, and I'm sure your bucket list is going to be pretty small in short order. With your persistence nothing buried in Ohio has a chance.

We have the same 2 initials Kilo Echo

 

[Ahab8]

great finds! Shoe buckles were basically out of favor in 1800 so you can rest assured that if you find one its likely colonial. There's a killer free shoe buckle reference online that you can download as a free pdf. Google Whitehead buckle reference. It's incredible detailed and gives date ranges. I've actually found some identical examples of what he has in his book

 

[Ahab8]

Most of those open work buckles are 1720-1790. The small buckle may be a garter buckle. I love that little buckle

 

[digging440yrs]

Nice finds

 

[Iron Patch]

A CT and a nice early buckle is a great day. Never seen anything like your unknown with the bust... quite a neat trinket.

 

[Z.K.]

Thanks everybody!

great finds! Shoe buckles were basically out of favor in 1800 so you can rest assured that if you find one its likely colonial. There's a killer free shoe buckle reference online that you can download as a free pdf. Google Whitehead buckle reference. It's incredible detailed and gives date ranges. I've actually found some identical examples of what he has in his book

Ahab, great reference tip. Looks like the shoe buckle is from the 1760-90 period. Any thoughts on restoration?

The Paris - Solide buckle looks to date to 1880-90. I like it very much.

WAISTCOAT | Paris - Solide (Maker) | 1969.6656 -- Historic New England

A CT and a nice early buckle is a great day. Never seen anything like your unknown with the bust... quite a neat trinket.

Thanks IP! I'm traveling for the next two weekends so this was probably my last day out, unless things get really wonky weather-wise. Couldn't ask for a nicer last hunt. And I can't believe I found something you haven't seen. Bonus!

 

[treblehunter]

Sweet finds, nice work, I'm sure there must be more hiding there, go get it!

 

[Trezurehunter]

like that buckle & crotal.

 

[Vino]

Great job on the shoe buckle.
They are one of my favorite things to find. I only found 1 complete.

 

[Ahab8]

For me personally I would only restore something that is rare or valuable and I knew could look much better for my collection. If I found a belt plate or a GW button that was folded I would likely spend the money for restoration. I have found around 17 shot buckles in 2 years. Some are complete and most are not. I just display them the way they come out of the dirt. Except for one frame that I buffed out to its original shiny brass. Pretty dumb because it stands out like a sore thumb next to the others. And not in a good way. Might rebury it for a couple years. If I were you I would just concentrate on finding more early sites and adding more killer buckles to your collection. Good luck buddy

 

[Z.K.]

P

For me personally I would only restore something that is rare or valuable and I knew could look much better for my collection. If I found a belt plate or a GW button that was folded I would likely spend the money for restoration. I have found around 17 shot buckles in 2 years. Some are complete and most are not. I just display them the way they come out of the dirt. Except for one frame that I buffed out to its original shiny brass. Pretty dumb because it stands out like a sore thumb next to the others. And not in a good way. Might rebury it for a couple years. If I were you I would just concentrate on finding more early sites and adding more killer buckles to your collection. Good luck buddy

Thanks for the advice. I've enjoyed getting acquainted with your epic adventures. Good luck back!

 

[park pirate]

Nice buckles ZK...

 

[Z.K.]

Great job on the shoe buckle.
They are one of my favorite things to find. I only found 1 complete.

Thanks! That's very hard to believe given your museum of finds. I was hoping some of your recent Spanish silver craziness would somehow zap Vermont and I could get my first before the season ended, but I'll take the buckle 😀

 

[Ahab8]

Thanks! That's very hard to believe given your museum of finds. I was hoping some of your recent Spanish silver craziness would somehow zap Vermont and I could get my first before the season ended, but I'll take the buckle ��

Where in Vt are you? I've been working in Stowe for months