Need help identifying a few items I found today.

[uncoveringthepast]

Please help me identify a few of the items I dug today, Most of the items I am digging are from the late 1700's to early 1800's. None of these items are magnetic.

 

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[Breezie]

Hello, item #2 looks to be a scale weight. As far as item #3 is concerned, here is an 11 page post/discussion on it:
http://www.treasurenet.com/forums/what/94940-any-ideas-what-brass-item.html

Welcome to the forum. Breezie

 

[TheCannonballGuy]

Since Breezie has already answered about items 2 and 3, I'll do item #1.

The item shown in your first two photos is known as a brass 1-piece flatbutton. It was made for use on civilian clothing, although some did get used on Militia uniforms. The type you found appears to have a "backmark" (maker's or dealer's mark on the button's back), with the marking done in raised lettering. That dates your silverplated brass 1-piece flatbutton from approximately the 1790s to the 1840s. The majority of them that get dug in America were manufactured in Britain during the 1790s through 1820s and were imported into the US, because the fledgling American button-making industry could not yet manufacture enough to supply the vast demand from clothing-makers.

 

[uncoveringthepast]

Thanks guys,

 

[uncoveringthepast]

Breezy and Cannonball guy I have another find that has peaked my curiosity, maybe you guys could shed some light.

I found what I believe in my research to be an 1801 1/2 real Spanish coin, the problem is that it was cut in half. My question is was it a common practice to cut coins to half the value or is this some weird coincidence?

 

[kuger]

Breezy and Cannonball guy I have another find that has peaked my curiosity, maybe you guys could shed some light.

I found what I believe in my research to be an 1801 1/2 real Spanish coin, the problem is that it was cut in half. My question is was it a common practice to cut coins to half the value or is this some weird coincidence?

Yes,it was common and a sought after find!Thats where "piece of eight",,and "two bits",came from!

 

[uncoveringthepast]

Thanks Kuger, I thought this was odd but it was a precision cut so I am glad to know some history on the piece. Just wish it had been a whole coin so I could know the exact date.

 

[kuger]

Thanks Kuger, I thought this was odd but it was a precision cut so I am glad to know some history on the piece. Just wish it had been a whole coin so I could know the exact date.

...I hear ya,but to be honest I would rather dig a cut coin than a whole one anyway!There really isnt a whole lot of numismatic value in most 1/2 reals,and a site cant really be dated by a coin either,but a cut coin tells a story!