Found a thing

[Bluezman]

Whatever this "thing" is, it can't be too uncommon, because this is the second one I've found so far. Can someone I.D. it for me, please?
Bluezman

 

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[d2]

I hope someone ID's it, cause I got one just like it and aint got a clue what it is...d2

 

[Bluezman]

I found one about 3 years ago, and gave up trying to Id it. Now that I've found another I thought I'd try again.

I thought it was an insulator, but I've checked with a meter and it's not.

Bluezman

 

[Montana Jim]

I'm just guessing here... How-a-bout a crude drain plug? Bottom loop holds a chain that is secured down inside the drain. Top loop is for grabbing on to.

**Note** This is a stupid guess... but, the first thing that came to mind - so I'm running with it.

 

[allsmith]

sure wish i knew ... ive found 2 of them too!!!

 

[savant365]

a wire splice maybe?

 

[Monty]

Looks like something you might use to splice two pieces of fencing wire together which would make it a wire splice as savant said? Monty

 

[DCMatt]

Conjoined buttons?

Seriously, where did you find it? Do you think it is farm, household, or military? What other things did you find with it? We need clues...

DCMatt

 

[d2]

I found mine in a CW camp but the field it was found in was used prior to and after the war. I dont think it is a splice for fencing, though it may be. Growing up on a farm we never used anything like that. We just used wire...d2

 

[Bluezman]

I've been checking it out farther, and found that the disk part is not steel or iron, but a heavy nonferris metal. Too heavy to be aluminum, unless alloyed with something heavy (zinc?). Too hard to be lead. Too light in color to be copper or brass. Utilitarian hardware is not made of silver (drat). It's electrically conductive and non magnetic.

All of which tells me .......nothing.

The item was found 7" down, and 3 or 4 paces out my back door. location would be 50 yards from the Neversink river in NY.

Area (Sullivan co.) has a history of farming (bottom land), trapping, tanneries, lumber mills, etc. When the animals and all the good tan bark trees were gone the farmers and local people turned to tourism.

During WWI, when knowone was vacationing in Europe, they built hotels here. You may know the area as the Catskills or the Borscht Belt. I doubt that this belonged to Henny Youngman, though.

I've found horse shoes not more than a couple of yards from where I found this.

Bluezman

 

[Charlie P. (NY)]

One of my synapses is trying to spark and it just won't. I recall somewhere seeing a chain with a specific use that had links like that spaced every foot or so. And I can't for the life of me remember where I saw it or when. For some very odd reason I am thinking it had to do with a hydraulic ram pump from a very old farm; but there are darned few parts on one of those and no chain Something with maybe a leather washer over the wider eye on each of those. Oh. It's almost there. Windmill?

 

[Scott (Mich)]

It is part of the gear used with horses or oxen. I cannot remember exactly but when my dad was alive we found a few of them and he told me that they were part of the harness or used to hook the harness to something else. He knew but I am sorry I cannot remember exactly what he told me.

Happy Hunting,

Scott (Mid-Mich)

 

[Bluezman]

Scott, You may be on to something. I went over the area again and found something else. I found it not two feet and about the same depth from the "thing".

I've been working on this "pork chop" for a couple of hours.



I think it's a size 11 from an Ox.



Here's the "chop" without the rust.

Unless someone knows more about the "thing" I'm going to assume that it came off an ox harness or yoke.

Hey, that's cool; My backyard was plowed with an ox...or two!

Bluezman

 

[Ed-NH]

Too cool, I found one last year near an old cellar hole which is very close to a lake. Hmm.... I wonder what it is too.

 

[Monty]

That "pork chop" is part of a metal shoe for the oxen. Check out the nail holes. Monty

 

[Montana Jim]

I know many of you already know the difference, but this is a great opportunity to explain that ox have a split hoof, requiring two "half" shoes...

 

[Ima Swinger]

Actually, I didn't know that MJ. Very interesting.
I have to go with my first thought on the "thing" though.

They are tie-downs for alien space ships.
When they think they are alone, they let their guard down a little.
So when someone stumbles onto their landing sight, they get startled, and in their rush to escape, they forget to haul in their anchors. This of coarse breaks the tie-downs off the outside of the ship. There should be anchors and chains in the area also.
They love farms.

Yep...I've seen it many times.

Ima

 

[Montana Jim]

Okay... Prolly not the same thing or made for the same reason, but will post it to spark some ideas...

Source: http://www.colchestertreasurehunting.co.uk/swordanddagger.htm

 

[DCMatt]

MJ,

Thanks for the pics of the ox shoes. I found one in my back yard, too (suburban Washington DC). Now I understand why it's only half a horse shoe.

The "thing" in question is WAY too common to be a sword or dagger hanger. Harness part is more likely.

I want to say it is a curb chain hook for a harness, but I have no proof. Being made of a nonferrous metal might lend some credence to this notion (won't rust in/near an animal's mouth).

But then you might say that my theory is only based on horse spit.

DCMatt

 

[Bluezman]

DCMatt quote: I want to say it is a curb chain hook for a harness, but I have no proof. Being made of a nonferrous metal might lend some credence to this notion (won't rust in/near an animal's mouth).

Actually, only the disk in the center is non ferris. The rings, really a one piece twisted ring (like a figure 8 or mo-bus strip type thing) is made of iron/steel.

Sorry if I gave the impression that the whole thing was non ferris.

Bluezman