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

kyle369

Jr. Member
Apr 18, 2014
98
229
Eastern Shore of MD
Detector(s) used
Garrett Ace 250
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
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

arrow86

Silver Member
May 6, 2014
3,374
4,072
Eastern Shore Maryland
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Great find , and rite down the road from me .... I’m in Millington , MD. If property is close to the river I would detect there to I know a few people that have found silver Reales and other old coins. Also keep your eyes peeled for arrowheads that’s my obsession and there’s plenty of those around that area too , good luck
 

Oct 5, 2014
31,886
35,424
Massachusetts
🥇 Banner finds
1
🏆 Honorable Mentions:
1
Detector(s) used
Garrett: AT Pro, AT Gold & Infinium; Minelab: Explorer SE, II; Simplex; Tesoro: Tejon & Outlaw; White's: V3i
Primary Interest:
Relic Hunting
Killer find, congrats! :icon_thumleft:
 

ToastedWheatie

Hero Member
Jun 30, 2013
532
759
Hudson Valley, NY
🥇 Banner finds
1
Detector(s) used
800
Infinium
Whites M6
Primary Interest:
Relic Hunting
WHAT IS IT DOING IN A 1910 YARD?!?!

Cheers, Kyle

Everything was something before.
I found an 1857 half dime in my mothers yard. House built in 1940.

But before the house was built, it was a sheep pasture. And before that...

Great find!
 

powrsurg

Sr. Member
Jul 5, 2016
319
364
Rocky Point, NY
Detector(s) used
Minelab Equinox 800
Whites Spectra V3I
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
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!)

View attachment 1721649

View attachment 1721650

View attachment 1721651

View attachment 1721652

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
Im having a similar mystery. Im finding colonial era buttons on my property and just recently a Naval button from 1800-1820. The kicker is that old atlases show nothing was ever here except a farm.
 

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