Challenge item

[jss1216]

Made of copper and thinner than a US dime. The US quarter is there for size comparison.

 

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[G.A.P.metal]

My guess is a pocket watch winder .
Gary

 

[creskol]

Given the size of it, my guess would be an old hair pin.

 

[ecmo]

My first thought agrees with G. A. P.metal

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[jss1216]

i cannot find a good example

 

[nhbenz]

Can we see the other side, on the off chance that it'll help us along.

 

[creskol]

That would be gigantic for a watch winder! What does the other side look like?

 

[Beshires1]

Looks like the pendulum for a coo-coo or clock. Or a winder for a old clock.

 

[cw0909]

op says: copper and thinner than a US dime

to me that leaves out winders

 

[The_Piratess]

Looks like the pendulum for a coo-coo or clock. Or a winder for a old clock.

Looks like the bottom of a pendulum for a clock to me too.

 

[lockster99]

If it's that thin....could it be the top to an old book mark? Some are pretty fancy.

 

[TheCannonballGuy]

My "best guess" is... a suspender's buckle or sock-garter buckle. Whatever it is/was, it looks like it got put onto a railroad/streetcar track and got flattened... like we used to do with pennies when I was a kid.

 

[cudamark]

Clock pendulum IMO.

 

[P.ALLEN]

Brass Lamp wick adjuster

Edit: Since it's brass and somewhat ornate, probably from a fancier (middle-upper class) family.

 

[Anduril]

A 1951 Buick Special Deluxe Sedan - Model 41D?

https://www.hometownbuick.com/portfolio/1951-buick-special-deluxe-sedan-model-41d/?portfolioCats=1687

Might not be the right answer, but it sure is specific enough!

 

[ecmo]

Still think watch winder.

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[creskol]

Still think watch winder.View attachment 1462940

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Here is one of my watch winders

 

[creskol]

Still think watch winder.

Now, the only problem with that theory is the size. The OP's item is one and a half times larger than the quarter shown.
The medallion portion of the one I posted is slightly less than 1/2 inch square, and I imagine the ones in the photo you posted are similar in size

 

[G.A.P.metal]

And still not solved !

 

[TheCannonballGuy]

As you see in Ecmo's screen-capture showing six pocketwatch winders, they have "raised" designs (and/or lettering) on them. Never seen one that was just plain flat unmarked metal. They are usually about the thickness of a dime, or slightly thinner. Jss1216 says his mystery object is thinner than a dime. His photo shows it has no designs or lettering on it at all... it's just plain flat copper. The three openings at its top are very irregularly shaped.. unlikely the openings were manufactured looking that way. All of those characteristics combined reinforce my previous thought that it was placed on a railroad (or trolley) track for fun, and got flattened, obliterating any designs or marking. The many tons of pressure which flattened it had the effect of significantly enlarging it from its original size... which could explain why it is a bit larger than a US quarter-dollar. It MIGHT be a flattened pocketwatch-winder.