Solid Silver Colonial Shoe Buckle

[SouthJerseyJim]

Solid *Tombac* Colonial Shoe Buckle

My brother and I scouted a new set of fields that I have been researching and it paid off big time. The grounds are still so dry in NJ and its hard to pull a decent signal at any depth but this new field definitely has potential. This buckle was a solid 12" in the ground mixed with iron,burnt wood, ceramics, brick and oyster shell. Nearby was the KGII. I hunt primarily farm fields and to find a whole shoe buckle is a daunting task as it is but to find a whole SILVER one is something else. It has a faint makers mark but unsure of the maker. Tombacs and a clog clasp were also nearby. Needless to say after some rain we will be heading back promptly to see what signals will be revealed after a nice soaking rain!

Beautiful Patina



Up close of makers mark



Dig hole with burnt ash,brick



Group finds including colonial casio watch....

 

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[screwynewy]

No doubt you have some amazing quality finds to your credit and I don't want to doubt your knowledge or expertise but I'm just not seeing silver with that shoe buckle. I dug a solid silver buckle last year that had a lot of tarnish/patina on it but you could still tell it was silver with no cleaning. Here's a link - http://www.treasurenet.com/forums/t...l-shoe-buckle-paste-stones-amazing-relic.html

 

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[OutdoorAdv]

Really nice buckle! It's always a great day to find one that's got most of the chape and tongue left.

Thanks fellas still excited about it. I could see the confusion about it being silver but they did not stamp brass/copper buckles. Its very heavy and is super clean compared to the brass buckle pieces next to it which are brass. It has a deep grayish black patina and has that "ting" to it. I even scratched a little bit of it to verify. Id imagine i could really get it to shine but I couldnt do that to the patina. Its what gives it character. I believe the makers mark is (I S). From what im seeing in this style its most likely british and around 1770 era. There are a number of J first name and S last name smiths from that era.

Buckle makers didn't only stamp silver ones and actually not all silver ones are stamped. I've found a brass one stamped with "IP" and I saw another brass one dug with a stamp of "IA". Your frame looks like a brass alloy, most likely a Tombac alloy. It's an excellent relic and it's always great to find one with a makers mark.

 

[SouthJerseyJim]

Screwy: Im going to have it acid tested to be sure. It's really screwing with my brain. all the other brass coming out is in terrible shape. Will keep you posted.

 

[port ewen ace]

silver or not---- STILL a bada$$ buckle

not many Colonial pulltabs in that area

 

[Steve in PA]

Really nice buckle! It's always a great day to find one that's got most of the chape and tongue left.



Buckle makers didn't only stamp silver ones and actually not all silver ones are stamped. I've found a brass one stamped with "IP" and I saw another brass one dug with a stamp of "IA". Your frame looks like a brass alloy, most likely a Tombac alloy. It's an excellent relic and it's always great to find one with a makers mark.

I can't view the pictures on this post for some reason, but when I saw it on Facebook I also though Tombac.

 

[SouthJerseyJim]

Never heard of a tombac shoe buckle but I will put it to the test when I get done work to find out.

 

[screwynewy]

Screwy: Im going to have it acid tested to be sure. It's really screwing with my brain. all the other brass coming out is in terrible shape. Will keep you posted.

Keeping my fingers crossed for you that it is silver. Would be a banner find for sure!

 

[SouthJerseyJim]

Thanks Screwy, gonna feel like a big dummy if it's brass and just disregarded its soil condition to screw with me =)

 

[Loco-Digger]

Congrats on digging that awesome buckle, That's one of those relics I always hope to dig when I'm hunting with my friends in the East NY/NJ area.

 

[CRUSADER]

Thanks fellas still excited about it. I could see the confusion about it being silver but they did not stamp brass/copper buckles. Its very heavy and is super clean compared to the brass buckle pieces next to it which are brass. It has a deep grayish black patina and has that "ting" to it. I even scratched a little bit of it to verify. Id imagine i could really get it to shine but I couldnt do that to the patina. Its what gives it character. I believe the makers mark is (I S). From what im seeing in this style its most likely british and around 1770 era. There are a number of J first name and S last name smiths from that era.

That is untrue, had a few copper-alloy shoe buckles with makers marks. I can't tell for sure but it looks more tombac than silver. (Clean it up a bit & post the pictures on this site)

 

[OutdoorAdv]

Never heard of a tombac shoe buckle but I will put it to the test when I get done work to find out.

Tombac buckles aren't nearly as common as brass ones... I guess technically Tombac is a brass alloy where zinc and extra copper were added to the brass to create a Tombac alloy. I've only dug 1 Tombac frame and a handful of broken Tombac frames, compared to dozens and dozens of brass frames and broken bits. Other odd Tombac finds are a Tombac baby spoon and a Tombac thimble that I was certain was silver when I dug it. Haha. We're used to Tombac buttons, but they did make some other things with it as well.

 

[pepperj]

Instead of scratch and sniff do a good rub and sniff with the thumb-rotten egg and sulphur will say silver content at least.

 

[SouthJerseyJim]

Its killing me sitting at work. Will get to the bottom of this asap. Thanks Cru, someone else metioned a makers mark on a brass buckle found also. maybe a little light rub of water and baking soda on the underside will work best until I can get a friend with an acid kit.

 

[CRUSADER]

Its killing me sitting at work. Will get to the bottom of this asap. Thanks Cru, someone else metioned a makers mark on a brass buckle found also. maybe a little light rub of water and baking soda on the underside will work best until I can get a friend with an acid kit.

Either way its a good find in better than average condition.

 

[Carolina Tom]

Its killing me sitting at work. Will get to the bottom of this asap. Thanks Cru, someone else metioned a makers mark on a brass buckle found also. maybe a little light rub of water and baking soda on the underside will work best until I can get a friend with an acid kit.

I look forward to the test!

It is a beautiful shoe buckle, no doubt about that.

Congrats on the find sir.

 

[toasted]

Heres a tombac knee buckle frame that I dug last year. Much grayer in color in person

 

[SouthJerseyJim]

Toasted I see green patina all around that making me thing its brass or copper.

 

[toasted]

Toasted I see green patina all around that making me thing its brass or copper.

Yes its not a very good picture. Ill have to take another when I get home.

 

[The Rebel]

Amazing find! Love the buckle.

 

[Steve in PA]

Definitely a great buckle whatever it is made of. While I'm still leaning toward tombac, it could also be some type of bronze alloy.