Couple of good finds for a newbie

[Bbarton]

Just picked up metal detecting as another hobby a couple of months ago, aside from having a cheap unit as a kid. Found a bit of trash, square nails, and some modern coins today while working a field with a friend, but I did luck out and find an 1853 calendar coin and what I think is an old sash tongue. Beginners luck is what I keep telling myself... Both items cleaned up nice. Can anyone give me any information on the sash tongue? I looked on google and couldn't find much other than militia stuff which it didn't quite match any I saw on there, though is very similar to some, other than the company name on it. Thank you in advance!


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[vpnavy]

1st - Nice finds Bbarton.

2nd - I searched

and found Eagle Buckle Piece? (Jan 22, 2015, 11:38 PM)...

That is a stamped brass 1850's tongue buckle.

We find them in our Gold Rush Camps and they are Pre War and in my opinion are not military and were made for the civilian market. Many clothiers in CA sold pants with a woven type belt that had these patriotic themed buckles on them. These types of buckles were not made for the rigors of war and were more decorative than anything. Many of the early stamped brass tongues had the Clothiers name on it. Some of the earliest Branding in the clothing industry.

Yours is a roped Border Eagle Buckle: probably the most common.

Max Bell has a really cool book about these types of buckles. He and several other CA locals and collectors combined a lot of knowledge on these buckles and created a very informative book.

Now you will get others that claim they are early militia buckles etc but not sure that can be confirmed. And STAMPED Brass for military use??

Very cool find and we love finding those buckles!!

Added a pic for reference

3rd - Moved from Metal Detecting over to Our Discoveries > Today's Finds! for more exposure

 

[relic nut]

That's a heck of a start!! Now go back and find the other half of that buckle. Good luck and welcome to the forum. [emoji482]

HH, RN

 

[sprailroad]

Relic nut, Found the "other" half of that buckle last week in Oregon, my First one ever after 30 years. Bbarton, Newbie or "Seasoned" guy, either way, Great Finds, I mean really great finds.

 

[trapperart]

Congrats on some very nice finds

 

[CRUSADER]

Nice calendar coin, rare to get them that nice, & rare to find.

I see 'NEW YORK' at the base of the tongue, looks pre-CW to me.

 

[Molewacker]

Nice, Nice! Beginners luck is nothing to laugh at!

 

[Beezly]

Nice finds, congratulations!

 

[Stretch Da Truth]

Congrats on a good day out swinging!
Love the calendar coin! Never seen one of those before. I want to find one now.

 

[caprock]

Here's a California gold rush miner wearing a very similar, if not same buckle. Not worn on a sash, but a woven belt.

 

[tomhighland]

Congratulations on your finds. Love the calendar coin. That is a cool find.

 

[against the wind]

There's at least 2 finds in that hunt that I have never found. Congratulations

 

[Bbarton]

Thank you all for the information! Really appreciate the wealth of knowledge and great people on this site. It really helps when trying to identify something. Looking forward to seeing everyone else's finds in the future, as for me I'm completely hooked now!


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[Bbarton]

Found some information on treasurenet on how to clean the old brass like that so I gave it a shot, ended with a really good result! The stages of cleaning are included as well.


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[Gridwalker306]

That's a really good find, congrats! Looks like you have an excellent spot to dig, hopefully there are more period finds to make.

Some friendly advice- make sure you are careful with relics, overcleaning and removing patina can devalue a great piece.

 

[Goldiver]

Nice finds, I love the calendar coin, I found only a piece of one many years ago. Your sash buckle appears to be a civilian version made by Pollack Brothers who took over another company in 1856, so it would have been made 1856 or after. Here is a link that talks about the company. http://www.treasurenet.com/forums/today-s-finds/119111-seated-hill-update-2.html

 

[DeepseekerADS]

I thought the calendar token was pretty neat. A quick Google netted this result:

1853 CALENDAR MEDAL J.B. HYDE, 162 FULTON ST., NEW YORK | eBay

Medal - Token - 1853 - Calendar For 1853 - Fulton Street New York - Large-36mm | eBay

 

[CRUSADER]

Found some information on treasurenet on how to clean the old brass like that so I gave it a shot, ended with a really good result! The stages of cleaning are included as well. View attachment 1451704 View attachment 1451705


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This is only personal, but I would have kept it at stage 1 (Top right). Specially until you had a full ID, it could have been your most valuable find. Although it doesn't now sound like it mattered too much.

 

[A2coins]

great job i have a huge chinese opium pipi from the early 1900s i need to clean its brass took two weeks to figure out what ir was lol i hope it turns out as nice as yours did. Tommy

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[Bbarton]

This is only personal, but I would have kept it at stage 1 (Top right). Specially until you had a full ID, it could have been your most valuable find. Although it doesn't now sound like it mattered too much.

Yeah I'm just going to put it in a display case and personally I wanted to see it back in its original (mostly, other than wear) glory. I'm not worried about selling, guess I'm just a sucker for shiny things [emoji13]. I did like how it was when it was black as well, though.