hey Rich in Houston..interesting piece. It brings to mind an old harmonica reed. I find them on occasion around sites where there is nothing remaining but square nails.
old pic of met det hunt finds from just such a place. bottom left is piece I'm referring to
Hey bravowhiskey. Thanks for your reply. I’m familiar with a harmonica reed. It’s not a reed. It’s some kind of buckle. I should have posted the other side. Check it out
Cpl reasons for using copper would be to prevent corrosion or for electrical equip...'corse there weren't much elec back in CW or Indian days except for maybe telegraph or
Well copper was widely available. Cheap and durable. There wasn’t much in alloys except pewter. I’d say copperas the most widely used metal at that time.