abraham lincoln bust somthing interesting i found

[bangorguy]

http://lincoln200.delaware.gov/information/B_LincolnPlaque.shtml

http://lincoln200.delaware.gov/information/B2_LincolnPlaque.shtml

 

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[bangorguy]

this is the bust of lincoln i found yesterday detecting in the woods. i was so excited my hands were shaking

 

[Newt]

Nice find! What's it made of?
Newt

 

[bangorguy]

hello, "newt" i think it is made from lead as it reads silver on my machine and its very heavy. i wonder if it has any historical intrest. it makes me wonder what it went to. thanks. ben.

 

[Newt]

What's the weight?
Newt

 

[allen]

wtg on that really cool find !

 

[silvercop]

 

[johnnyi]

Bangor, does it have the remains of mounting pins or brackets on the back?

 

[bangorguy]

hi "johnnyi" thats the first thing i looked for lol. i don't see any remains of "mounting" pins or "brackets". it seems to be crudely flat, but the peice is very heavy as i think it is lead. i have dug alot of thing's but this one is pretty unique. it make me wonder if it has any historical importance. i would appreciate any idea's and info on this. thank's "johnnyi" god bless. ben.

 

[Nana40]

That is just too cool, B! Hope ya find out what it went to.

Nana

 

[johnnyi]

Thanks for the backscan Bangor. It is strange that is has nothing for mounting. It kind of puts it in the category of individual sculpure, paperweight, etc.; or else perhaps a test casting for something more substantial (although these were usually done in plaster). I've been googling "bas relief", "sculpture", "bust", "profile", etc. and have yet to find anything that comes close to resembling this profile's style.

One other thing that is useful about your find is the amount of oxidised lead deposit it seems to have (unclear how thick from the scan). As you already know very well from the many lead objects I'm sure you've dug relating to the Civil War, lead deposit is very telling when considering age,
and although you can sometimes find old lead which appears cleaner due to various factors, you rarely if ever can find a thick white oxidized encrustation on a newer object. You might want to compare some of your dateable lead finds against this find regarding thickness of the crust if you haven't done that already (I'm pretty sure you have!) Let us know what you find.

 

[bangorguy]

hi "johnnyi" i can't seem to find anything on google either. i agree with you there is nothing for mounting it certinaly is unique lol. i did rinse it when i got it home and used a soft toothbrush to remove some of the dirt, but i don't want to remove the patina. the place i have been detecting has been giving up a few 1859 to 1900's indian heads and one large cent. so it is a good spot for old things. there is a crust of oxidized thats pretty thick under the dirt where i can see, but i cant really tell how thick due to... i am afraid to clean it as i don't want to devalue it in any way if it is worth anything. any info on this peice would be very helpful. thank you "johnnyi" for your help on this. "god bless" ben.

 

[bangorguy]

hi newt, i can only make a guess on the weight i would say it's around a pound or so maybe a bit less. thanks ben.

 

[CRUSADER]

Here is a guess based on similar experiences.

It could be a test piece for a master metal worker, before he did a bronze version, he would test it with lead to see if the mould would work & how well the curving took. Test pieces were normally one offs, but he may have made many bronze examples which still exist today. The Bronze ones could have had a fixture added to display it on the wall.

My thoughts.....

This one, tossed, as a by-product, or maybe sold cheap. Although I would have melted it back down for re-use

 

[bangorguy]

hi crusader thats a good thought as the person would have had to use it as a "mark up" type of thing. or for a mold maybe? good idea thanks ben.

 

[lucky d]

cool find bangor.....lots of interesting finds in the maine dirt....hh

 

[Newt]

Here is a guess based on similar experiences.

It could be a test piece for a master metal worker, before he did a bronze version, he would test it with lead to see if the mould would work & how well the curving took. Test pieces were normally one offs, but he may have made many bronze examples which still exist today. The Bronze ones could have had a fixture added to display it on the wall.

My thoughts.....

This one, tossed, as a by-product, or maybe sold cheap. Although I would have melted it back down for re-use

And a good thought at that.
Newt

 

[Tank69]

very cool an strange find

 

[sscindercoop]

Nice find!!!!

 

[mlayers]

Cool find....Matt