🔎 UNIDENTIFIED Axe/Hatchet Head Identification - What is this?

[High Plains Prospectors]

I found this axe/hatchet head a few years ago and just got around to cleaning it up. I found this metal detecting in a town in Missouri that was ransacked during pre-civil war turmoil. It is now just a couple fields. It has a long history and we have hunted it several times (along with many others) over the years. I have seen some amazing things come from this site. Including a gold coin. The best I have found here was some 3-ringers and this hatchet. I was following another post that re-sparked my interest in finding out what/when this hatchet is from. In the previous thread they posted a couple pictures to help identify the heads but I didn't see one like this one. Any help is appreciated! I will repost the identifier charts that were in the other thread too (not stealing it but just want to skip the redundancy of someone having to post it again). I assume it is some sort of roofing hatchet but not 100% sure as it is not on any of the charts that I can tell.

The hatchet had clearly been underground for a minute...it was pretty heavily pitted.

Funny thing is we had used this as a doorstop for several years in our shop!

Charts:

 

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[Almy]

I agree it has the size and shape of a shingling (and roofing if wood shingles were used) hatchet. It has the nail pulling groove in the back of the blade and double angle edge . However, the round projection on the end opposite the blade, used for nailing, is missing and the hatchet looks odd without it. Do I see a round impression on the face where it would have been welded on and the weld broke? Or maybe it was ground off?

 

[ARC]

That sir.... is the oldest hatchet of its type that i have ever seen.
VERY EARLY... and probably the first run / model of it.
OR...
It was a hand forged version someone made... which could make it even earlier.
One or the other. IMO
Stellar find in my mind.

 

[High Plains Prospectors]

I agree it has the size and shape of a shingling (and roofing if wood shingles were used) hatchet. It has the nail pulling groove in the back of the blade and double angle edge . However, the round projection on the end opposite the blade, used for nailing, is missing and the hatchet looks odd without it. Do I see a round impression on the face where it would have been welded on and the weld broke? Or maybe it was ground off?

Yes! It does. There is an impression. I assumed it was from someone pounding on it or something. What is the significance of the impression?

 

[High Plains Prospectors]

That sir.... is the oldest hatchet of its type that i have ever seen.
VERY EARLY... and probably the first run / model of it.
OR...
It was a hand forged version someone made... which could make it even earlier.
One or the other. IMO
Stellar find in my mind.

Thanks for the info. I felt it might be hand forged too. Thanks for the reply...that helps a lot.

 

[Almy]

Look at the last of the Vaughn hatchets. Take the round nailing projection off and I think you have yours. The place where it was attached would leave a round impression. However, all I am familiar with were forged in one piece, so the nailing head would not have come off unless cut.
It's been in the ground for a long time based on the deep rusting (mostly removed) but I'm not sure it was hand made. There does not seem to be a seam where the blade was hammer welded on as would be the case for handmade.

 

[jose159]

I found one that is similar… I wasn’t sure if it was a shingling axe or a toy.

 

[High Plains Prospectors]

I found one that is similar… I wasn’t sure if it was a shingling axe or a toy.

Similar but it doesn't have the "nailing" portion on it. I am leaning towards it being a shingling hatchet....