Son Of a Cow Dog, would you look at this crap.

KirkTN · Feb 23, 2008

Brother John Whooped me again. He found 5 eagle buttons today and I found this crap :-[

well, not all of it's crap. What you're about to see are my humble share of todays finds.
I like the flat button, don't know what era it is, do you? The other button/rivet has 4 W's with what looks like the top of a capitol bldg. between each W. Era? Don't know what the ornate piece with the rose is either. and how about the stirrup. What era do you think it is. Oh yea I have been wanting to find a harmonica reed in one piece, found two instead in the same hole.

karib2517 · Feb 26, 2008

nice digs,way to go.

Fisher · Feb 26, 2008

After looking at these pics I think i found a reed last year. What do you all think?

Iunno · Feb 26, 2008

I found a harmonica reed and a lipstick tube on an old railroad that they were tearing up. I had no idea what they were till i visited this site. Are reeds rare?

KirkTN · Feb 27, 2008

Fisher said:
After looking at these pics I think i found a reed last year. What do you all think?

That'd Be One for sure.

Cinder2007 said:
I found a harmonica reed and a lipstick tube on an old railroad that they were tearing up. I had no idea what they were till i visited this site. Are reeds rare?

Semi rare I'd say, It's just that they come from another time when harmonicas were more popular. Some back to the civil war era If I'm not mistaken. To me they conjure up the image of maybe a soldier, or a cowboy playing campfire songs.

Montana Jim · Feb 27, 2008

There were many types and sizes of reeds and reed boards, or reed plates. The reed itself in the little piece that vibrated.

The reed boards you are showing are as common as heck - harmonica's were the radios of the day. Everyone had one...

There are also single reed pieces that were part of squeeze boxes, and other reed pieces that went in organs and such. Very common finds... from farmhouses to battlefields. I have a bunch but LOVE picking them up.