Bored absolutely sh--less today .. pulled a box and found these!

creskol · Jan 23, 2014

Many years ago, while working on the Baltimore Inner-city Project, I recovered the remains of a post-war Union patriotic "something-or-another" .. It is way to light and delicate to have been a belt, but could possibly have been a necklace, but whatever it is, the "buttons" are just a very thin shell with no backings. They were pretty badly deteriorated when I found them, probably as a result of city rat urine, but some of the buttons were still connected. Today, I found them "again" in one of my relic boxes that hasn't been opened for well over 20 years, and sadly, the breakdown process took its toll. Some of the buttons are now crumbs, and many of the links have fallen off. Although I'm not sure it's really worth trying to save them at this point, I made an effort to preserve what's left of them by soaking them in a warm diluted baking soda mixture, followed by a bath in distilled water, and then applied a coat of wax.
Anyhow, I couldn't get very good photos, but thought I would share what I have with everybody.

mangum · Jan 23, 2014

That's a neat piece, worth saving if possible...

tennessee digger · Jan 23, 2014

I like those but don't know what they were used for. I have a digging buddy that dug some of those around an old house site here in Tennessee. Pretty good find I think.

BigWaveDave · Jan 23, 2014

My wife would have thrown them away by now....do all that you can to save them for another 20 years!

Argentium · Jan 23, 2014

Incredible relic man ! That is a piece of history right there .

creskol · Jan 23, 2014

tennessee digger said:
I like those but don't know what they were used for. I have a digging buddy that dug some of those around an old house site here in Tennessee. Pretty good find I think.

Some were much heavier with substantial attachments and also had solid backs on them. That style was used as belts.

Back-of-the-boat · Jan 23, 2014

Poor mans chain mail :laughing7:

VOL1266-X · Jan 23, 2014

Keep at it Rob. Very interesting. We were down & out too with wind chill temps near zero ALL DAY. HH, Q.

vpnavy · Jan 23, 2014

doninbrewster · Jan 24, 2014

I think it's pretty cool to dig out something like this. Any idea what it was originally? I think it would be worth it to find out if you don't know.

creskol · Jan 24, 2014

doninbrewster said:
I think it's pretty cool to dig out something like this. Any idea what it was originally? I think it would be worth it to find out if you don't know.

It is pure conjecture that I say it is the remains of a necklace, but the architecture of it eliminates it from being any sort of belt.

ezman604 · Jan 24, 2014

This is what comes to mind when I see the pieces. With the shield it's definitely military related.
Vintage Military Button Chain Belt made from by HeritageTrails
SAFE & Happy Detecting!!!!
Dave

treblehunter · Jan 24, 2014

ezman's link looks like it. Cool find

creskol · Jan 24, 2014

ezman604 said:
This is what comes to mind when I see the pieces. With the shield it's definitely military related.
Vintage Military Button Chain Belt made from by HeritageTrails
SAFE & Happy Detecting!!!!
Dave

Cool .. Thanks Dave! I sure wish they had shown the backs of the "buttons." The write up says,"they are only the tops of the buttons (no shanks) and they have metal work holding the backs of the buttons together and the chains go from button to button" whereas these things I found are literally paper thin and have no backs at all .. just skins .. and are extremely delicate. I suppose it could be a belt, and I have seen some similar, but if it was a belt, it certainly would have been a flimsy one.

ezman604 · Jan 24, 2014

What comes to mind for me is a formal "bling" military accessory. Not functional but decorative. I'm still searching for a closer match but the way they are strung together matches the example I found.

ezman604 · Jan 24, 2014

One other thing I find interesting is the image of the Great Seal stamped appears to be reverse. Maybe stamped from the inside? Hard to tell but which direction is the eagle facing? I see the arrows in the wrong talon. And there are supposed to be 13. I can only make out four. Interesting piece, would like to find some history on it. I see some gold through the patina/tarnish. Any idea what the metal makeup is? Maybe gold plated?