Civil war era silver piece??

[Sarge38624]

I found this today while hunting an area outside of Vicksburg, Mississippi. It is small and has "Sterling" stamped into it. I have founds lots of civil war era artifacts at this location and I have found nothing modern other than the occasional shotgun shell. Could this be a drop from the civil war?? Is there a way to date it?? Thanks in advance.

 

[GaRebel1861]

I've never seen a silver piece from the Civil War that was marked as Sterling. I could be wrong. Your are no doubt in a great area to find relics from that time period. I've been over that way a time or two. If I lived there, I'd hunt old home sites and construction areas near or close to town/river. Good luck and be safe.

 

[Dakota Sioux]

My guess is WWII sweetheart charm

 

[vhs07]

Dakota Sioux nailed it. Here's one very similar to your design but with a stone added:

 

[TheCannonballGuy]

Like GaRebel1861, despite doing four decades of closely observing maker's-markings on civil war era items, I've never seen "STERLING" marked on a silver object from that time-period. The earliest example of such marking I could solidly time-date was "about" 1890. Several times in past years I've sent emails to antique jewelry experts asking for solid information on when the "STERLING" marking first appears, but I didn't get an answer from a single one of those people. Hopefully somebody here at TreasureNet has the definite answer to that question.

 

[tamrock]

Also know as (sterling puffy heart charms). They're quite collectible and I think they've been producing them from the late 19th century to today. Nice little find...
Heart Charm Buying Guide: Victorian, Vintage, or Repro? | eBay

 

[flinthunter]

Like GaRebel1861, despite doing four decades of closely observing maker's-markings on civil war era items, I've never seen "STERLING" marked on a silver object from that time-period. The earliest example of such marking I could solidly time-date was "about" 1890. Several times in past years I've sent emails to antique jewelry experts asking for solid information on when the "STERLING" marking first appears, but I didn't get an answer from a single one of those people. Hopefully somebody here at TreasureNet has the definite answer to that question.

I could be wrong, but I think all silver and gold items were required to be marked after the implementation of the United States National Stamping Act of 1906.