Found a Lead Belt Plate...333rd What?

[West Jersey Detecting]

I dug this today in an old field. Any ideas? It was mixed in with pewter flatware fragments and some old buttons.

 

[romeo-1]

Interesting find...I would be excited if I found that! What's the back look like?

 

[Iron Patch]

I'd say it's just an old tag of some sort. Would make my heart skip a beat though seeing it in the dirt.

 

[romeo-1]

Yep...I agree with tag. You can see the remnants of the nail holes in the corners.

 

[ivan salis]

what was the address at one time --maybe 333 ? whatever street.

 

[TheCannonballGuy]

First... note that the numbers are an antique European-style of number writing, not American-style numbers.

Second... note that although all of the numbers are a "3", they are not the same size as each other.

Therefore, apparently, the numbers on the plate you dug here in the US were cut into the plate "by hand" with an engraving tool, and done by a European immigrant to the US, probably during the 1700s/early-1800s.

 

[West Jersey Detecting]

First... note that the numbers are an antique European-style of number writing, not American-style numbers.

Second... note that although all of the numbers are a "3", they are not the same size as each other.

Therefore, apparently, the numbers on the plate you dug here in the US were cut into the plate "by hand" with an engraving tool, and done by a European immigrant to the US, probably during the 1700s/early-1800s.

That was my thought as well. But just out of curiosity I typed in the address on the road to see what would happen. The field just north of the red "A" is where I found it. Guess what the address for "A" comes up as in Google? #333!!! Coincidence? Probably. They did not issue street numbers until the 1960's in this area.

 

[oldtimer82]

hey neal,
they had numbers earlier then that i bet,check out the sanborn fire insurance maps of your area.
heck even a littl rinkydink town i lived and born in had them back in the early 1850. so maybe that was the old house number.
h.h.
oldtimer

 

[Gecko]

...so maybe that was the old house number. nope. it just means you are halfway to he--. (666) LOL. I'd hang onto it... it might be a 'get out of He--' card. neat find whatever it is.

 

[ivan salis]

some folks say I'm fairly good at this stuff.

 

[West Jersey Detecting]

some folks say I'm fairly good at this stuff.

And what do the others say?

 

[ivan salis]

nothing at least not to my face

 

[NGE]

My lucky numbers are 3's. And there are 3 of them there. Just like 11/11/11 coming up soon, add the 3 elevens together and that is how many years I am married this year. So 3's have always been good for me........NGE