🔎 UNIDENTIFIED Please help identify

[beachhunter3]

Found this relic hunting today.

 

[cudamark]

Numbers/letter look stamped rather than written. Doesn't look particularly old IMO.

 

[Knight_of_Excalibur_II]

Looks like it belongs to heavy industrial or farm equipment, I think it is a part serial number, not a patent number. If you could give some approximate details about where it was found, I could probably narrow it down further, but otherwise, too little info.

 

[robertk]

how do you explain the handmade crudeness of the object like it was made in the 1800's?

Being handmade and crude doesn't necessarily mean it's old. I make handmade crude stuff all the time.

 

[Knight_of_Excalibur_II]

It was found in St. Augustine Florida at an old home stead site along with many other old artifacts from the 1700's to the 1930's. Anyway, I was thinking serial number to but how do you explain the handmade crudeness of the object like it was made in the 1800's?

Not conclusive, but a potential lead:

Given the spacing of the serial number, it likely indicates:
Part number: 2077A
Batch: 152
Year of Manufacture: '62

Metal: Zinc / Aluminum / Lead

Stamped lettering, potentially by hand.

I think it may be part of a Holley R-2077A Carburetor that was installed on a '62 Ford passenger vehicle, or potentially repurposed for industrial farm equipment:

HOLLEY R-2077A -CARBURETOR-KITS-PARTS

carbdoc.com

Post-WWII economic boom saw the industrialization of many farms / small towns across Florida.

I thought similarly to you with the patent plate I found, but was able to find the exact patent number, and link it to post-WWII development in my area.

 

[ncsuwolf]

Numbers/letter look stamped rather than written. Doesn't look particularly old IMO.

Agreed. Those numbers were put in with a set of hand punches/stamps…..and based on patina (or lack thereof) not guessing old.

 

[pepperj]

Not conclusive, but a potential lead:

Given the spacing of the serial number, it likely indicates:
Part number: 2077A
Batch: 152
Year of Manufacture: '62

Metal: Zinc / Aluminum / Lead

Stamped lettering, potentially by hand.

I think it may be part of a Holley R-2077A Carburetor that was installed on a '62 Ford passenger vehicle, or potentially repurposed for industrial farm equipment:

HOLLEY R-2077A -CARBURETOR-KITS-PARTS

carbdoc.com

Post-WWII economic bTags: While original equipment (OEM) carburetors sometimes used a small metal tag held by a float bowl screw, those tags were typically triangular or round aluminum/brass with the vehicle manufacturer's part number (like Ford or GM codes).oom saw the industrialization of many farms / small towns across Florida.

I thought similarly to you with the patent plate I found, but was able to find the exact patent number, and link it to post-WWII development in my area.

Yes Holley produced a similar # but the numbers Tags: While original equipment (OEM) carburetors sometimes used a small metal tag held by a float bowl screw, those tags were typically triangular or round aluminum/brass with the vehicle manufacturer's part number (like Ford or GM codes).
Seen a good number of Holley carb. systems and they've never used a tag like this one.

 

[ncsuwolf]

Still researching it out but look at a couple of examples of the writing I found... look at the "2" in the examples the "2" from the 1800's is wavy at the bottom of it and curls around at the top of it... now look at the "2" from the 1900's pretty much straight all over (modern)... look at my lead object its wavy and curls around (probably from the 1800's)... by the way numbers from the 1700's curl around even more but No No No this is not from the 1700's it's from the 1800's IMO. What do you guys think?

I think it’s aluminum. Aluminum wasn’t widely used until the mid 20th century. Therefore, I’m sticking with my….not that old statement. I hope I’m proven incorrect for you and your find.

 

[robertk]

What do you guys think?

I think you are too focused on the style of the lettering. You can get metal stamps in whatever style of font you want. That alone doesn't mean anything. The fact that at least some of it appears to have been hand stamped also doesn't mean anything as far as age goes. People can and do hand stamp metal stuff to this day.

I also think it's aluminum and unlikely to be from the 1800s. All the lead I've ever dug from the 1800s has been bullets, and they all had a white patina. Your piece doesn't have that. If you want to see if it's aluminum or not, mix some vinegar and salt and put some on the back of the piece. If you get bubbles, it's aluminum. If not, it might be lead.

 

[Blackfoot58]

Similar tags were used on power/utility poles to help identify install age and/or last inspection date.

 

[robertk]

Unfortunately, I'm not comfortable putting any solvents on it as it could decrease the value of the artifact. In my opinion ...

You are assuming too much, IMO. That notch, for example. How do you know it was intentionally cut to hang on a nail? How do you know whether it was made to be inserted someplace, or that some missing piece was stamped the same way (if it even exists)? The fact that "nobody" can find it on the web doesn't mean it's old, it just means it's not something specific enough to search for. To me it looks like an ID tag off a power pole or piece of equipment that came loose, got damaged, and was buried. I see no reason to believe that it is particularly old or valuable. I don't think you're risking "damaging" it by the vinegar test -- it is clearly already damaged.

Carry on thinking it's an 1800s artifact if you like. At this point I'm pretty sure nothing anyone says will convince you otherwise. You asked for opinions, then argue against all of them.

 

[cudamark]

Wow thanks for the insight you dug real deep on it and I thank you. My object is not modern though it's all handmade and I looked at it under a loop just to make sure the "A" in it was a "A" and it is but I noticed how crudely the stamping is because the "6" was doubled stamped and one of the "7"'s were side stamped crude like anyway Holly company would have never made something half ass like that plus there's no "R" on my object. Also the numbers look 1800's I can't say that enough. It maybe automotive though and I'll research that angle. I attached more pictures measuring it. AI seem to tie the numbers to military indentation and from the moment I saw it for some reason that "62" makes me that it's a date of 1862 I guess because of the spacing. Anyway I'll keep researching out.

I Inherited some of my Grandfather's tools, so, just because it MAY have 1800's style numbers, that doesn't mean it was stamped in the 1800's. It could have been stamped last week by someone using some old style stamps. I hope I'm wrong and it's worth a fortune, but, if I had found it, it would already be in the scrap lead bucket.....