One for Bill D: An Open Work Cast Colonial Buckle?

[Erik in NJ]

Not sure sure if anyone can ID this open work cast buckle, but it is one VERY interesting piece. Found in South Jersey this weekend with my buddy NJLargeCent near an old foundation near a mill site. I have been trying to clean it up a bit with hot peroxide and a toothpick and it's very fragile. Notice the letter G in the first picture, part of it broke off and I will attempt to restore it. Another piece with the long thin openings also broke off and will hopefully be restore. I applied some Verdi-Chem to the metal in order to try and bring out some of the engraved writing on the other side. The top part of the buckle seems to have script engraved writing and there is Gothic writing near the bottom. It's a very intricate piece and I'm hoping someone like Bill D can shed some light on it. Must have been a beautiful piece several hundred years ago!

 

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[John Boy]

Wish I could help ya out.Boy you sure can tell that it is fragile. If I was to try to clean it I wouldn't have nothing but a pile of dust.Unique find buddy

 

[granthansen]

Very interesting and it certainly looks brittle. I hope you get an ID. I am missing out on some great hunts!

 

[HutSiteDigger]

Too me it looks like a metal type pouch. I have dug several similar pieces in colonial spots in the Northern Neck of Virginia and let me tell you they all came out looking like this or even worse! Very interesting with the lettering on it that may or may not place it as colonial but maybe early 19th century? Hopefully Bill or someone else can shed light on this pretty kewl find!! Congrats!

 

[Erik in NJ]

Too me it looks like a metal type pouch. I have dug several similar pieces in colonial spots in the Northern Neck of Virginia and let me tell you they all came out looking like this or even worse! Very interesting with the lettering on it that may or may not place it as colonial but maybe early 19th century? Hopefully Bill or someone else can shed light on this pretty kewl find!! Congrats!

Thanks HSD! The "G" in the open work is very interesting. And I'd be very interested to be able to read the script "engraving" on the other side. The buckle looks very intricate and the "nipple" that you see on the one side is a rivet that hold another piece of metal in place. It's very ornate, very fragile, and just looks old to me....I'm hoping someone can help with the ID.

 

[vpnavy]

Regardless of what it is - it was a nice find Erik in NJ!

 

[Bill D. (VA)]

That's a very interesting and unique piece Erik. Never seen anything like that. Not sure its even a buckle. Maybe Crusader has seen something like this over his way. I'll do some checking and if I can come up with anything I'll let you know. Cool find!

 

[Erik in NJ]

Thanks Bill for any information you can provide. It's a very interesting piece for sure. A few pieces have broken off, but I have saved them, so if you have any recommendations on a type of glue that I can use to reconstruct the item please let me know. I applied Verdi-Chem to help hydrate it, but the back became too dark....I'm hoping another bath in hot peroxide will lighten it a bit and also remove some more of the dirt. I'm anxious to try and reveal some of the writing on the "back" to help ID it. Being cast it's heavy for its size and I wonder if it received a mating piece with tongue.

It'd be nice if SS, Crusader, or Old Soapy et al. could provide any additional information as it might be British in origin.

Best, Erik

 

[Steve in PA]

Erik,

I'm not sure exactly what that is, but I really don't think it is colonial because it looks to be stamped sheet brass. I would guess that to date from the mid to late 19th century. Hopefully you can get a good ID on it.

Steve

 

[Erik in NJ]

Erik,

I'm not sure exactly what that is, but I really don't think it is colonial because it looks to be stamped sheet brass. I would guess that to date from the mid to late 19th century. Hopefully you can get a good ID on it.

Steve

Hi Steve,

As I noted it is a cast piece and is quite heavy for its size, there is a piece of, what appears to be sheetmetal on the inside that is rivetted to the item that has the tab bent over the front of the item--I have no idea what it does. Possibly latches a mating piece with a tongue...You can see the rivet on the solid darker side. There is writing in script on the top of that side and lettering a in Gothic typeface near the bottom as you can see in the pic, but I cannot made out the words. I have an open work bridle boss that was verified on the ukfinds database with a date of 1650. This piece may possibly date to the same timeframe. It is very weak in its current state and requires some reconstruction. Wish I'd tried harder to look for the rest of it when I found it but it was quite dirty and I didn't realize what a beautiful & unique item it was. Hopefully we can go back and re-scan the area soon.