Almost didn't dig this Colonial stunner

Mr. Digger · 2026-10-19T07:18:24-0500

It rang up a 9 on my Nox 800, same VDI as a bunch of shell casings I had dug in that area. For that reason I started to walk away. Then I turned around and said what the heck just dig it. Then I saw it was going to be under a root and almost walked away again. So glad I stayed with it! I have dug complete Colonial shoe buckles before but never one that rang up this low. It's a 10 out of the hole.

ToddsPoint · 2026-10-20T04:39:53-0500

A beauty! Voted banner.

Mr. Digger · 2026-10-20T05:52:59-0500

Tesorodeoro said:
What is the date range for these shoe buckles? What is your opinion as to why this buckle survived? If it iron or an alloy?

For this style I'm thinking 1760's to 1790's but experts may chime in with more info. The only part of the buckle that is iron is the inner pin. You can see there was a little bit of rust seeping out. The rest of the buckle is some sort of alloy but I have no idea. If the tongue and chape were iron they would have been totally rusted and corroded, which is common.

Mr. Digger · 2026-10-20T05:53:53-0500

ToddsPoint said:
A beauty! Voted banner.

Wow thank you!

Gare · 2026-10-20T06:21:54-0500

It is a nice find

Silvermonkey · 2026-10-20T10:20:34-0500

Mr. Digger said:
It rang up a 9 on my Nox 800, same VDI as a bunch of shell casings I had dug in that area. For that reason I started to walk away. Then I turned around and said what the heck just dig it. Then I saw it was going to be under a root and almost walked away again. So glad I stayed with it! I have dug complete Colonial shoe buckles before but never one that rang up this low. It's a 10 out of the hole.

That is one awesome find Mr. Digger. Shoe buckles are one of my favorite things to dig. The fact that you found an intact one makes it that much sweeter. PS- Looks like it cleaned up very nicely. What's your secret?

Mr. Digger · 2026-10-20T15:09:46-0500

Silvermonkey said:
That is one awesome find Mr. Digger. Shoe buckles are one of my favorite things to dig. The fact that you found an intact one makes it that much sweeter. PS- Looks like it cleaned up very nicely. What's your secret?

Thx SM yeah, it was just flakey stuff that crumbled right off with a light touch of a wooden kabob skewer. I didn't do anything but that.