oldest silver and a BELT PLATE!!!!!!!! better pic added

[Marty-Graw]

went out after work to a place i had hunted numerous time because it is half a block fom my house.....last week they bulldozed the houses on the site so i have been hunting there as much as possible......well i got out of the car and just wandered around sorta dodging muddy areas....found a 1962 nickle........then got a pretty good signal dug it and out came the belt plate....i dont know anything about it so any info would be great.....it was all i could do to keep hunting, wanted to fly home and post it....glad i stayed about 20 minutes later the 1939 merc popped out....literally.... stuck digger in popped out a chunk of dirt and the dime started rolling across the ground lol
ok i'll hush now and let ya see the pics

 

[coinman66]

Re: oldest silver and a BELT PLATE!!!!!!!!

Awesome Marty! Keep em comin! HH

 

[BuckleBoy]

Re: oldest silver and a BELT PLATE!!!!!!!!

Just water and a soft toothbrush are all that is needed. I'll post before and after pics of mine when I get home to show how it looked before and after.

Buckleboy

 

[goldencoin]

Re: oldest silver and a BELT PLATE!!!!!!!!

Sweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeet.......

HH
-GC

 

[ghostrider1775]

Re: oldest silver and a BELT PLATE!!!!!!!!

WAY TO GO!!!!! that is an awesome buckle!!!

 

[Nana40]

Re: oldest silver and a BELT PLATE!!!!!!!!

MARTY, MARTY, MARTY!!!!

OMG!!

What a find!!! I am so happy for you!

I know you are still doing the happy dance over that one!!!!

Nana

 

[Marty-Graw]

Re: oldest silver and a BELT PLATE!!!!!!!!

yes i am Nana.....it took a minute for it to sink in what i had found.......i found it where they bulldozed the 2 old houses across from where you and i hunted that day.......if ya wanna come hunt there let me know.....they are gonna make a parking lot there for the civic center, gotta get any good finds out of the ground before they do

 

[Trash Digger]

Re: oldest silver and a BELT PLATE!!!!!!!!

You and Nana better work that place to death before it is under asphalt.

Mike

 

[MikeTN]

Re: oldest silver and a BELT PLATE!!!!!!!!

I know the car! It's a Hotwheels hammered Coup! Nice belt plate!!

Mike

 

[Daisy]

Re: oldest silver and a BELT PLATE!!!!!!!!

Great relics and a good looking Merc! WTG! 8)
HH D.

 

[Mona Lisa]

Re: oldest silver and a BELT PLATE!!!!!!!!

Smarty!?!.....How'd I miss this one?

Congratulations on a fantastic find!

 

[renegade_7]

Re: oldest silver and a BELT PLATE!!!!!!!!

Very nice belt plate and a nice merc....

 

[randall61]

Re: oldest silver and a BELT PLATE!!!!!!!!

wow nice belt plate i would'nt clean it........i'd make a return trip

 

[Marty-Graw]

i havent done any cleaning other than washing the dirt off this pic just has better lighting

 

[SilverDreams]

Great finds!

 

[TreasureTales]

That's a magnificent belt plate. You gotta go back and do more detecting. It's your patriotic duty to recover those pieces of history before they are buried under a doggone parking lot. Continued good luck to you at that site.

 

[Salvager]

Even I can see thats an awesome find-and I'm Australian!

Congrats mate,
Salvager

 

[Hardy]

Congrats on the belt plate find and thax for sharing it

 

[Nashoba]

Awesome belt plate....Had to make your heart skip a few beats I'm sure.
Congrats on a very sweet find.
Best o' luck nect time out there!

~Nash~

 

[Nashces]

I'm a newbie here but love to research things

This is the info I got on it to reinforce what the others have already said:

Regulations were issued in 1851 promulgating the use of these sword plates. Most were produced during the 1860's. They were issued to anybody that had need to carry a sword, generally officers of the infantry, but both officers and enlisted for the cavalry. There was little need for them to be produced after the war ended in 1865, surplus stocks were hugh, and many were used during the western wars that followed the Civil War. Some transitional pieces were made after the war in the late 1860's these generally are distinguished by wider tongues. Then in the 1870's new regulations were established making these plates obsolete.

This is my freference

http://www.relicman.com/bukfse.htm

Nash