1850s STAR MILITIA BELT PANEL PLATE! CANNOT BELIEVE MY EYES!

kyle369

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Apr 18, 2014
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I was metal detecting today with my trusty Garrett Ace 250 at my mom's new house in Sudlersville, MD (Upper Eastern Shore), which apparently dates back to 1910. I had detected there once before and had found a bunch of clad and a '57 wheatie; the wheat had raised my hopes for this hunt today. Found a lot more clad and a '41 wheatie, but the highlight of the day was this "belt buckle" that I had found several inches down after pulling out pieces of iron (thank god for my AT Propointer!) I was glad I avoided scratching it more than twice, but I had NO IDEA how incredible my find was until I got home. Considering the age of the house I figured it would be a Victorian era (late 19th-early 20th century) belt buckle, perhaps a civilian repro of a military buckle after I noticed the thirteen stars. NOPE!

It is a US STAR MILITIA PANEL (BELT) PLATE DATING CIRCA 1850-1865!!! (A spitting image of the one Steve in PA found!)

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WHAT IS IT DOING IN A 1910 YARD?!?!

Perhaps it's a bit older than 1910...

An 1877 atlas of the county shows a house near exactly where my mom's house is, and with the exact same shape!!!

It was apparently the residence of a "Wm. Nickerson"

I'll have to do more research on this guy and see if he was part of a local/state militia!

Cheers, Kyle
 

Upvote 52

NEPADIGGER7

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Sep 3, 2013
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Great find man!!
 

Old Dude

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Big congrats. That's a bucket lister for sure.
 

DocBeav

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Jul 8, 2012
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BEAUTIFUL Buckle my friend! Congrats on THAT bucket lister!
 

Silvermonkey

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Apr 24, 2013
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What a find! That's what I find so enjoyable about this hobby. You just never know what's going to come out of the ground. Kyle- your buckle is fantastic! Congratulations!
 

DiggerKid2003

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Jul 5, 2014
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Im always scared of finding something that good because I might have a heart attack :laughing7: Oh and just like his, yours should get banner.
 

Digger RJ

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Aug 24, 2017
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Awesome!!! Congrats!!!
 

curbdiggercarl57

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It's a Banner Baby Buckled, Buckle Bucket-Lister!
Kudos!
Carl
 

GB1

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Steve in PA

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Jul 5, 2010
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Congrats on that belt plate :occasion14: I found mine almost exactly one year ago, June 16, 2018. Mine made banner and so should your's. My vote going in now!

P.S. I wouldn't get to aggressive cleaning it. Soft toothbrush and no water.
 

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Valley Ranger

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Epic, historic save!
 

Joe-Dirt

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Wow!!! Thatโ€™s awesome, I vote banner!!
 

A2coins

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Boom baby thats what its all about. Well done
 

toasted

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Congrats. Nice find and not too far from me either
 

CRUSADER

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