A bell for sure, it what was it used for?

[Hammer287]

Recently I saw a Youtube vid where a woman was digging two of these out of the field. There was no explanation as to what they're used was for. It's approximately 1 1/2 inches in diameter.

 

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[digging440yrs]

 

[Tony in SC]

Other than just a jingle. they were used on horses and buggies to let people know you wee coming.

 

[TheCannonballGuy]

Its specific name is a Crotal bell. But some people call them "jingle-bells" because of the Christmas season song and what you see in the horse-&-sleigh photo helpfully posted by digging440years. They are known to exist in various sizes, from about 1/2-inch to about 2-plus inches. Your Crotal bell, being solid-cast brass instead of thin stamped sheetbrass, is significantly old. I'm not sure whether the solid-cast ones go back as far as the 1600s (or earlier), but they've been found at 1700s, 1800s, and early-1900s sites... so yours could be between one and three centuries old.

 

[mrs.oroblanco]

Definitely a crotal bell - I love these things - they used to use them on everything besides your horse related uses. I've seen little ones as jewelry, some to put on your dogs, some to hang on your door - even on store doors. Neat!