The object in the first photo is a brass protector for the toe end of a shoe's sole, not a heel plate. Its design was patented on Nov. 29, 1859. Those which were manufactured before the Patent expired (within 17 years after the Patent date) are marked "Pat. Nov. 29, 1859." After the Patent expired, anybody was free to manufacture it without paying a royalty to the Inventor/Patent-holder.
Some versions of it have larger holes, to make stitching onto the end of the shoe's thick leather sole easier.
Your shoe-toe protector (which is what the Patent calls it) is heavily worn and broken. The photo below shows an intact one, marked with the Patent date.