Help with Claw Bracelet

[blauer]

I found this claw bracelet today at an old playground. It seems to be made of copper and was possibly gold plated at one time as there is still some gold here and there. Any help identifying it would be great. It appears to be the Seal of the US with the motto E Pluribus Unum.

 

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[nhbenz]

Am I just seeing things here? Cropped and flipped image:

 

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[Breezie]

Am I just seeing things here? Cropped and flipped image:
[/QUTE]

It looks like a signature to me too. Good eye Benz.


Breezie

 

[shawninNY]

I still think this item is to be held at an angle( on something not a wrist ) so that the seal would be vertical !

 

[TheCannonballGuy]

Breezie wrote:
> Since the diameter of the 'wrist' portion is only 2 1/2 inches in diameter,
> which would fit a 5 inch wrist, it is too small to be a bracelet to fit an adult,
> and due to the heavy construction, I don't think it was made to be worn by a child.

Breezie, I have to respectfully disagree about the first two points (5" wrist, and too small to fit an adult).
Doing the math to calculate circumference from the diameter measurement:
2.5" multiplied by Pi (3.1416) equals 7.85", not 5 inches.
The diameter (actually, maximum width) of my wrists is 2.4" and 2.25". So, Blauer's bracelet would fit me just fine.
Also, the average American adult woman's (and man's) height, bone-structure, and weight were smaller in the first half of the 1900s than in later decades, due to significant improvements in childhood nutrition during the second half of the 1900s. (Check the official statistics for average height in each decade from 1900 through 2000.) I think it's very likely that this object was made to be worn by an adult female who grew up in the early-1900s.

Folks, please don't overlook the significance of the bracelet's cutouts (which seem to form a letter V atop a letter W). The "orientation" of the stacked letters makes them most easily readable when this brass object is on a human's wrist, which is most often held more-or-less horizontally, rather than when seen on a vertical object like a flagpole. If it is on a flagpole (or other vertical object), you'd have to tilt your head 90 degrees to read the letters. If anybody doesn't grasp the visual image I'm painting, keep in mind that the emblems-&-letters on the sides of a high-school/college Class Ring (very similar to this object, but smaller) are intended to be viewed when the ring is in a more-or-less horizontal position.

 

[shawninNY]

I see the w , I'm most stuck on , the great seal being mounted in the 2 o'clock post as opposed to the standard 12 of all other wristwear! Maybe some info on the signature will help

 

[blauer]

Am I just seeing things here? Cropped and flipped image:
View attachment 1011301

I'm not seeing the signature on it but I will try to clean it up a bit and see..

IT IS STAMPED AFTER ALL: "Made is USA" above the hole in the middle.

 

[nhbenz]

I believe the eagle to be pivoted from its original position, as one wingtip and one talon stick out beyond the backplate.
A way out guess on the letters on the side: West Virginia? (not that it matches any logo of theirs that I find), but it is next door to PA where it was found if I've read correctly.

 

[shawninNY]

In blaurs 2nd response , he stated the eagle is secured in that position.

 

[nhbenz]

Indeed I did read that, and it may seem to be, but be that as it may I firmly believe it shifted to that position. The hole in the back seems centered enough that I'll bet there's a single screw fastener in there if we looked in that hole straight on. It just doesn't make sense to have parts of the eagle poking off the edges like that.

 

[shawninNY]

That's the only reason I feel it's something decorative and NOT meant to worn , hopefully he will look if there's only 1 attachment point I'll agree that it is a bracelet , but if it is secured in the 2 o'clock pos there is no way it was intended as jewelry ,

 

[blauer]

That's the only reason I feel it's something decorative and NOT meant to worn , hopefully he will look if there's only 1 attachment point I'll agree that it is a bracelet , but if it is secured in the 2 o'clock pos there is no way it was intended as jewelry ,

The eagle is secured in the 2 o'clock position. The front plate has 2 edges that bend over and into shallow groves on the "band" section. IMO I do not think is was meant to be removable.

 

[Breezie]

Whenever I help people ID an unknown item, one of my first questions to myself is, 'is it logical that item X is used for X?' In other words, does it make sense.

It doesn't make sense to me that the Great Seal of the United States is lopsided. In my first post, I asked, 'How about looking inside the small hole on the back to see if there is a screw or rivet holding the eagle onto the base. I think the eagle is supposed to be straight and not at a slant, and perhaps it got knocked crooked.' Actually I think it would be disrespectful to the Great Seal to be crooked. Would any branch of the military allow it to be worn lopsided? Granted, it was probably not an item issued by the government, but I would think back during WWII era, there would still be a respect and etiquette for the Great Seal as there is respect and etiquette for the U.S. Flag.

It also doesn't make sense to me that it is a sweetheart/ladies bracelet because it's too bulky; it doesn't look feminine. The height and unevenness of the Great Seal would pick/hang on clothing, especially sweaters and wool jackets. The cut-outs on the side would catch on clothing.

Blauser said, 'it would fit on a petite wrist,' and the CBGuy gave us the correct diameter, but that doesn't necessarily mean it is supposed to fit on a wrist.

I think we would benefit to see more photos at different angles, and it would be good to have a pic of it on a ladies wrist.

Also, it doesn't make sense to me that if it is a bracelet, why is it marked MADE IN THE U.S.A. instead of having a maker's mark? I was able to find one company that marked their jewelry, 'MADE IN THE U.S.A., but it also had a maker's mark. Hopefully someone will be able to find a jewelry company with the Made in the U.S.A. without a maker's mark.

Lastly, this section of TNet is all about helping to correctly ID items. We throw out ideas and theories. Sometimes we're right and sometimes we're wrong, but every idea could help lead someone to correctly ID the item; often it takes a 'Village.'

Hopefully we can find some photo or script to prove it is a bracelet or something else.


Breezie

 

[shawninNY]

Well stated Breezie! The fact that blauer confirmed the seal fixed in its current position confirms for me , my original thought that this item is meant to go around something that is fixed on an angle so the seal would be in a vertical position , I believe the w cut outs are pressure bands to snug item in position on whatever it's supposed to go on! The fact this is stamped( made in USA) shows this item was manufactured and not a 1 of a kind homemade item, it's similar to a bracelet but has way too many differences to be ignored!

 

[blauer]

I've looked for a makers mark and found none. Also there is no signature as show in the pic... just a trick of light and shadow in the original picture.

 

[Breezie]

IT IS STAMPED AFTER ALL: "Made is USA" above the hole in the middle.

I've looked for a makers mark and found none. Also there is no signature as show in the pic... just a trick of light and shadow in the original picture.

Is it stamped Made in U.S.A. or not? Or are you saying it is stamped Made in U.S.A. but has no makers mark?

Breezie

 

[blauer]

Is it stamped Made in U.S.A. or not? Or are you saying it is stamped Made in U.S.A. but has no makers mark?

Breezie

Stamped "Made in U,S,A" but no maker or manufacture mark.

 

[nhbenz]

I truly can always be wrong, but it just seems very similar to this one: 1934 American Military Wwii Sweetheart Aluminum Hinge Cuff Bracelet | eBay
And, yes the material and a few details are different, but similar to be sure.

 

[wainzoid]

Thinking out loud to myself...... I can see where it has alot of rough edges for a bracelet as mentioned. On the side, it looks like just one letter to me. What appears to be a 'v', I think is more a part of the design than a letter. But what do I know. And I am going with the letter 'w' rather than an 'm'. It does appear to go around something. So......how about a rolled flag? Do the flags, like the colour guard or a marching band would use, do they get rolled? Or does the flag get removed from the pole/handle and folded as other flags? I guess it wouldn't have had to have been around a US flag, but any flag they would carry?!?!? I don't know.... just thinking out loud :-)

 

[Breezie]

I truly can always be wrong, but it just seems very similar to this one: 1934 American Military Wwii Sweetheart Aluminum Hinge Cuff Bracelet | eBay
And, yes the material and a few details are different, but similar to be sure.

Benz, here is the patent for that particular bracelet. Maybe we can find others by the same company.
https://www.google.com/patents/US19...a=X&ei=ha2jU5zvHM21yAS2j4KwBg&ved=0CB0Q6wEwAA


Breezie

 

[shawninNY]

Breezie , i liked your idea about grave or flag type thing , the VW cutout looks like perhaps ribbon could run thru!