A lead whatsit?

[buddyb]

This lead item is slightly larger than a quarter. The oval hole used to go all the way through, but the back side has been pinched.
Any ideas?

 

[bigfoot1]

is it a lead alloy?looks like part of a lock

 

[buddyb]

Using a small scratch test, it seems to be the same hardness as a Minie ball.

 

[bigfoot1]

perhaps for a fuse on a munition

 

[buddyb]

Hi guys, Thanks for the suggestions, but does anyone else have any ideas?

 

[mical66]

i like BF1 idea,, a slot in the center to slide a fuse and being lead they can shape it to the hole....but i really have no idea ,, just think its a good guess.

 

[TheCannonballGuy]

There now having been two guesses that this object is a munitions (artillery, grenade, etc) fuze, eventually somebody is going to ask me about it. So, I'll go ahead and speak up now to say it is definitely not a fuze, nor a fuze-part.

I've seen one before, but I cannot recall where I saw it sometime in the past 50 years or so. (It's frustrating that when you get into your 60s that although the light is still on in the attic, some cobwebs are definitely forming in unused corners.)

The object's finder (Bbuddy) says it is "a little larger than a quarter." A sideview photo would be helpful, so we can see if it has any threading or other way of attaching it to something.

 

[buddyb]

Hi Cannonball Guy,
Sorry for the slow response. For some reason I didn't see an email notification.
I will take a picture tomorrow in the sunlight. I can't seem to get a good flash picture tonight.
BTW, just wait until you get into your 70's. I'm just glad I can still dig, even if I can't remember where I found something.

 

[buddyb]

Cannonball Guy,
Here is the side pic you requested. Basically sooth and rounded.

 

[TheCannonballGuy]

Buddyb, thank you for making and posting the additional photo. It shows what I was expecting from my long-ago memory, it lacks screw-threads for attaching it onto something else. Unfortunately, I still can't recall where I saw one of those, sometime in the past 50 years.

Since you have physical possession of it, let me give you a tip which has worked for me several times. Show it to as many "elderly" folks as you can. Sometimes one such person will recognize the unknown object from seeing it in their youth. One day I was showing an elderly neighbor a bunch of odds-&-ends I'd dug, and he pointed to one object and said "That's a Model-T Ford sparkplug."

 

[buddyb]

Cannonball Guy and the rest,
Thanks for looking and trying. I'll take your advice. Keep it in my pocket and show it to all my "old" friends.
happy hunting to all

 

[EmptyPockets]

Could it be one of those "button" type things that goes on a saddle. A leather strap would come out the middle to tie gear on to?
I think they are called conchos.

The concho would be set into a leather object with a leather strap coming out of it.

My guess anyway.

-Joanne

 

[buddyb]

Joanne, You might be onto something there, but all of the conchos that I have found, so far, show conchos as being decorative additions. I will try to find a local saddlery and see what they have to say.
Thanks,
buddyb