Old mail bag parts?

[Desert Don]

My first finds of 2018. I was out on the old 20 Mule Team trail today. I rarely find anything of importance out there. Mostly just a lot of old nuts, bolt, spark plugs, Mule shoes, and other things dating back to the turn of the last century. But today I found something really interesting. It appears to be part of a Mail bag, or bank bag. Or perhaps a small box of some sort. In addition to the small metal parts, there was also a few scraps of very old leather. Some of the leather can be seen in the photo. The lock was the most interesting. Does anyone know what this lock may have been on? Any suggestions? All of these items were found within 10 feet of each other. In the photo, there is also an old shotgun shell. The primer is intact (not fired), and the date on it is 1901.

Desert Don

 

[dirtdigginfool]

Hmmm...Don it appears to maybe have been a chest, or trunk..given the latches, hardware and such. The leather could have been from straps? Definitely interesting, no matter what..and this is how caches are found! Too bad the gold/silver/Spanish silver was not with it...keep on hunting, would love to see you unearth a fully intact chest full of $$$...Ddf

 

[Desert Don]

Hmmm...Don it appears to maybe have been a chest, or trunk..given the latches, hardware and such. The leather could have been from straps? Definitely interesting, no matter what..and this is how caches are found! Too bad the gold/silver/Spanish silver was not with it...keep on hunting, would love to see you unearth a fully intact chest full of $$$...Ddf

Ya, me too. But if I do find a real treasure chest full of money...you'll never hear from me again!

 

[vpnavy]

Nice finds Don and I agree - trunk/chest. Thanks for sharing...

 

[Trezurehunter]

I like Dirtdigginfool's idea. That lock "could hold the key" to further finds in that area !

 

[Professor of Engineering]

Nice relics, now go find the cache!

 

[Desert Don]

I will definitely be going back out there. I was hoping that someone would recognize that lock. Maybe someone has seen one like it before and could tell me what it could have been on. That trail is over 150 miles long. It runs from Mojave all the way to Death valley. I've been concentrating on an area not far from my home. I've been at it off and on in this location for over 5 years now, and have only search about 1 mile of it. It just keep giving.