1850’s belt plate or junk??????

[history preserved]

So I found this at an 1850’s Seminole war era fort. It was SUPER deep. I think it’s made of copper or brass. I’m pretty sure it’s junk, but I just want to make sure.

 

[smokeythecat]

I wouldn't get rid of it. It's very old and easily a pre Civil War militia piece.

 

[TheCannonballGuy]

Your find has sharp right-angle corners, so it is most likely not a beltplate or shoulder-belt plate, because those corners tend to cut things like fingers or clothing. There was an early form of photographic plate called a Daguerreotype, invented and popularized worldwide in 1839, consisting of a thin rectangular piece of sheet copper, whose image was made on a very thin layer of silver depositied on the plate.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daguerreotype
We dig Daguerreotype plates occasionally at civil war era (and a bit later) sites. Diggers hope it's a belt-plate, but the 90-degree corners say no.

I can't say for certain that that's what you found, but it is at least a possibility.

You might want to make a tiny scrape on your find, to see whether the metal is yellow (brass) or pinkish-orange (copper). If it is brass, it is not a Daguerreotype plate.

If it is brass... thin sheetbrass waistbelt-plates/shoulderbelt-plates show two or three grey solder-spots on the back, where the belt-attachment hooks were soldered onto the plate. Are any visible on your find?

 

[A2coins]

Cool find let us know if you confirm what it is!!!!

 

[history preserved]

Your find has sharp right-angle corners, so it is most likely not a beltplate or shoulder-belt plate, because those corners tend to cut things like fingers or clothing. There was an early form of photographic plate called a Daguerreotype, invented and popularized worldwide in 1939, consisting of a thin rectangular piece of sheet copper, whose image was made on a very thin layer of silver depositied on the plate.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daguerreotype
We dig Daguerreotype plates occasionally at civil war era (and a bit later) sites. Diggers hope it's a belt-plate, but the 90-degree corners say no.

I can't say for certain that that's what you found, but it is at least a possibility.

You might want to make a tiny scrape on your find, to see whether the metal is yellow (brass) or pinkish-orange (copper). If it is brass, it is not a Daguerreotype plate.

If it is brass... thin sheetbrass waistbelt-plates/shoulderbelt-plates show two or three grey solder-spots on the back, where the belt-attachment hooks were soldered onto the plate. Are any visible on your find?

Thank you! It is in fact copper.

 

[TheCannonballGuy]

Thank you for confirming that your playing-card sized sheetmetal rectangle is made of copper. A Daguerreotype plate was copper with a thin layer of silverplate on one side. It might be worth your while to buy a small bottle of Tarn-X silver cleaning liguid and dip your copper rectangle, to see if it has silverplate on one side. Do NOT rub it. Seeing the black areas amid the green makes me think it has some silverplate remaining on it. (Silver tarnishes black-ish.)

If there's no silver... because you dug it in Florida, I have to mention that copper sheetmetal has been used for centuries to shield wood structures (piers, buildings, and boats, etc.) from the effects of saltwater in "marine environments."