✅ SOLVED Civil war non brass knuckles ?

[DIGGING1971GUY]

Civil war non brass knuckles ? Updated after cleaning pics

Found this today at a very old site ,are these civil war era knuckles ? made of iron I believe

Any help would be great,thanks !!

 

[TheCannonballGuy]

Unfortunately, the one you found cannot be dated with much accuracy. The very same version can still be purchased today. Yours could be 150 years old, or 50 ...or less. They've been illegal in most places for many years, so yours are probably old, but there's no way to know for sure about exactly how old.

 

[DIGGING1971GUY]

Unfortunately, the one you found cannot be dated with much accuracy. The very same version can still be purchased today. Yours could be 150 years old, or 50 ...or less. They've been illegal in most places for many years, so yours are probably old, but there's no way to know for sure about exactly how old.

Thanks CannonballGuy, I was thinking it would be hard to figure out

 

[austin]

How deep, hard or soft soil, anything else around them?

 

[mangum]

I've found the exact same thing. Would love more info. I found them at a site that dates to the mid 1700s and was in use until the 1930s

 

[nhbenz]

It would be interesting to see them cleaned up to see the detail, and possible markings (albeit uncommon). Although, as noted, the exact date is impossible to tell, I'm going to go out on a limb and opine that that it could be narrowed to 1860ish through the 1930's if they are in fact iron. A clue to their probable age range will be, once cleaned, the details of craftsmanship after they were cast, specifically whether they took the time to file the casting seams, and if so how it was done.

 

[DIGGING1971GUY]

How deep, hard or soft soil, anything else around them?

About 10" down ,other finds around this small house lot ,1910 wheaty ,1917,1920 and a Canadian wheat small cent 1920
The area does have civil war history and is 500 yards from the east -west railway.Near Atlanta

 

[BuckleBoy]

If they were found at a very old site, and recovered with relics that were early, then they are likely period. I've dug these in house sites from the mid-1800s before, and often made out of lead instead of brass. That is a really great condition set. I'd clean them up with applecider vinegar and seal with rust converter to display. Great find!

Cheers,

Buck

 

[DIGGING1971GUY]

If they were found at a very old site, and recovered with relics that were early, then they are likely period. I've dug these in house sites from the mid-1800s before, and often made out of lead instead of brass. That is a really great condition set. I'd clean them up with applecider vinegar and seal with rust converter to display. Great find!

Cheers,

Buck

Thanks for the cleaning tip ,I was wondering how to go about cleaning them .

 

[BuckleBoy]

Thanks for the cleaning tip ,I was wondering how to go about cleaning them .

If they are the least bit fragile and crumbly, you could skip the vinegar and wire brushing and go directly to scrubbing the dirt off and applying rust converter.

Cheers,

Buck

 

[Gunrunner61]

Kinda of a neat find....I have a bud who carry's one of those just about everywhere he goes....I keep asking him what he's afraid of

 

[DIGGING1971GUY]

If they are the least bit fragile and crumbly, you could skip the vinegar and wire brushing and go directly to scrubbing the dirt off and applying rust converter.

Cheers,

Buck

Updated after 5 days of apple cider vinegar bath .

 

[NOLA_Ken]

I think these might be a match for yours. WW1 era Iron knuckles with a nickle plating.



Flying Tiger Antiques Online Store: SOLD!!! Old "Brass" Knuckles

 

[WoodrowWood]

In my Dad's stuff, he said this knuckle was a GGgrandfather's that fought in the Civil War. I have looked at a number of sites on knuckles. Mine looks nearly identical to yours; I haven't seen any others with this tear-drop shaped open space.