Copper/Bronze Bracelet ID Help Needed. Bunch of pictures.....

[DocBeav]

I found this the other day while MDing on a beach IVO Norfolk Va and found this cool copper/bronze/brass, bracelet. Not sure what it could be. I know it could just be a modern piece that looks old but it looks like it was handmade. There is a uneven seam that runs around the inside from being hammered or rolled or something. It just looks crudely made but I was looking for some opinions or ideas here. I have seen pictures of and heard about copper/bronze trade or "slave" bracelets but I don't know if it could be that old but I really haven't the faintest so that is why I'm looking for any input you may care to give!

It was pretty crapped up when I first found it. At first I just figured it was trash, some junk jewelry, someone's "better circulation" bracelet or what-have-you, but after taking a closer look at it I decided to clean it off some. After a light tooth brushing, a few minutes in the tumbler in some warm water, soap and handful of fish gravel, and a quick soak in some warm peroxide, here is how it looks now.


You won't hurt my feelings if it turns out just to be junk, I still think it is kinda cool!

 

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[DCMatt]

It certainly looks old and is definitely hand worked. I wouldn't throw it out.

Hard to say more without having it "in hand". Any local experts you can take it to?

DCMatt

 

[HuntinDog]

Could it be a homemade bracelet hammered from copper tubing?
Used from arthritis relief.
I have no idea... just a guess...

 

[WolfmoonX]

Horse bit ring?

 

[scaupus]

Sorry, see my post below. I had a photo here that was way too large and made the entire page difficult to read.

 

[DocBeav]

gravediggermax found a similar one tro mine a few days later in the same area, along with a few other different bracelets. Makes me think it is more modern and just LOOKS old...

 

[scaupus]

These photos show actual slave trade bracelets. They were used in the slave trade because they were already used as currency in Africa. As you can see, they are sophisticated, cast copper or brass, and very artistic, in my opinion. The Portuguese and later the English and Dutch made them, and they got lighter as time went by, and the metal debased. But they were all cast, not rolled sheet metal like yours. You seem to have a home-made copper bracelet, perhaps it was adornment for someone poor, even a slave, but that is very speculative. I think more likely it was made to treat arthritis. Homemade metal goods used to be quite common.

Here's an ebay listing for a shipwreck manilla. It looks authentic to me

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Antique-African-Bronze-Okpoho-Manilla-from-the-Duoro-Shipwreck-1843-/271269749818?pt=US_World_Coins&hash=item3f28efe43a

Most of the old manilla in Africa were turned in for modern currency in the 1940s. A limited number were allowed to be retained by the tribes for ceremonial use.

 

[DocBeav]

Cool info! Thanks!

 

[ODA 226]

It looks just like the bracelets made by Montagnards during Vietnam. Many SF that fought with the "Yards" in Vietnam wore them when I was on the teams. Since you found it in Norfolk, it could have belonged to a vet.

 

[DocBeav]

It looks just like the bracelets made by Montagnards during Vietnam. Many SF that fought with the "Yards" in Vietnam wore them when I was on the teams. Since you found it in Norfolk, it could have belonged to a vet.

That would be cool if so man! Hadn't heard of those before! Appreciate your input ODA 226! U in Stuttgart?

 

[DocBeav]

And I just found some info on exactly what you were talking about! Here is an article from Stars and Stripes!

Bracelet is a lifesaver at Plei Me - Pacific - Stripes