Civil War belt buckle found in central California?

[sjvalleyhunter]

A few weeks ago I met some of the leaders at an older church that dates from the early 1900s. The church is in central California in the downtown area of a city that was founded in 1872. I got the ok to detect the property and was finally able to get a few free minutes to hunt the grassy area in the front and on one side of the main building.

About three feet from the base of a large pine tree and about five to six inches deep I found this belt buckle. I recognize the style as a Civil War era, U.S. Army eagle sword belt buckle. It’s clearly damaged on the side the belt is affixed to the buckle, it has some caked on dirt that I’m having difficulty removing, and overall it’s in poor shape. There is also an odd rounded piece of metal that is protruding from one corner. However, I did nick it with my digger on the back which exposed the base metal which appears to be brass.

So what I don’t know is whether or not it’s an old reproduction or if it’s an authentic period piece that somehow made it’s way out to California, possibly as a souvenir or keepsake, long after the Civil War had ended.

I read a prior thread here on Treasurenet where another member found a nearly identical belt buckle. TheCannonballGuy gave some very good information on that buckle. Here is a link to that thread:

http://www.treasurenet.com/forums/what/297965-belt-plate-id-help-needed.html

Regardless of the authenticity of what I found, it’s not something that I would have expected to come out of California soil. This is what makes our hobby fun!

 

[against the wind]

That is so cool,,
Congratulations

 

[vpnavy]

FANTASTIC find SJValleyHunter . Thanks for sharing...

 

[DetectorMoe]

Fantastic dig. Congrats on your fine!

 

[treblehunter]

Looks like a keeper to me, nice find, congrats!

 

[Brendan75]

Hi, awesome find

 

[Trezurehunter]

Congrats on a great find.

 

[sprailroad]

It could happen, there are a number of civil war vets graves in Calif. and Oregon, fella's having come out here for any number of reasons with bits and pieces of their past.

 

[Rookster]

A bucket lister for most for sure. Congrats

 

[Professor of Engineering]

Wow! Awesome find, congratulations!

 

[aa battery]

here in town? great find.

 

[sjvalleyhunter]

here in town? great find.

Yes sir, here in town.

 

[BuckleBoy]

Definitely genuine. There’s no reason to fake a buckle unless it’s super rare, much less bury one or artificially age it. GREAT find!

-Buck

 

[CMDiamonddawg]

After the War it headed off to the gold fields , quite a journey in time .

 

[JBnNC]

Congrats, that's a good one....

 

[sjvalleyhunter]

After the War it headed off to the gold fields , quite a journey in time .

I had never really thought about it, but that makes sense. Once the war was over there were a lot of unemployed soldiers. A number of them probably made their way out to California to join in the gold rush.

 

[Sooper Dave]

Incredible find! Those are tough to come by in Civil War areas, so I imagine very rare for your neck of the woods. Congrats!

 

[pa-dirt_nc-sand]

That is a great find anywhere! Congrats!!

 

[Cal_Cobra]

Awesome!! Been after a belt plate in CA or NV for years, nice to know their out there

 

[basque-man]

Look good to us!! They are certainly out this way. Lots of soldiers from the civil war made their way to CA after the war, only to arrive with what they were wearing. Also these styles were still around during the "Indian Wars" that took place in many areas of CA, NV, AZ and so on. We have found US belt plates, spurs and US ammo plates in our area (of course I mean NV) Great save for sure. I would certainly hit that church as much as possible and dig everything!!! Good Luck!