Items found while metal detecting need help identifying

[Danette79]

Here are a few other things found while metal detecting in Phippsburg Me. One is a copper or brass looks like punched face plate or something... not sure ... and the other is a large piece that has what seems to be marks on the back for a belt buckle or some kind of buckle. But not sure what they are.

 

[CRUSADER]

Looks like a CW breast plate to me, but I'm in the UK, so its a guess.

The other looks to be a printing plate.

 

[TomPA]

Agree with CRUSADER on the CW plate, but a photo of the back would help. The other item looks like a printing plate.

 

[TheCannonballGuy]

First, Danette, welcome to TreasureNet's "What-Is-It" forum, the best place on the internet for getting unidentified objects CORRECTLY identified.

The circular brass disc, showing a spread-winged eagle holding an olive branch and arrows in its talons, is a US Army model-1826 shoulder-belt plate (commonly known as an "eagle breastplate). That model was still in use in the civil war. The early version (1826-1831) had iron wire hooks or loops soldered directly onto the back of the brass disc. The later version (1832-through-1863), which is commonly found at civil war sites in the South, had its belt-attachment hooks or loops submerged in thick layer of solder on the brass disc's back. (Relic-diggers call that version a "lead-filled" back, but the filler-metal is actually solder, not lead.)

The most common variety, issued for use by Privates and Corporals, had two attachment-loops on the back. A much rare variety was made for Sergeants/Non-Commissioned-Officers, ranking below Commissioned Officers (Lieutenant and higher)... it had three hooks on the back. Please post some well-focused closeup photos of the back of yours, so we can give your a more-specific ID and time-period for it.

 

[Breezie]

Well said CBG.

Danette, WELCOME to the forum! Congratulations on finding an awesome breast plate. Judging by the hair style of the guy on your printer's plate, I would say it dates around The Brady Bunch era. Actually it resembles Greg! LOL


Breezie

 

[Mark1985]

That looks smaller than my breast plate what's the measurement on that plate