Strange buckle / clasp from New Years Day dig.....

[Baggins]

Found this old clasp / buckle type piece while digging by an old cabin this weekend here in Texas...This was one of my first major discoveries since I don't get to detect much. The cabin is on my friends land who owns a ranch here in Texas, and has NEVER been hunted....I spent about four hours there on new years day and dug a ton of square nails, iron, a couple of old spark plugs, a clay marble, lots of broken pottery, and glass, a horseshoe, and a pewter spoon handle....This clasp looks to be copper, and has an inscription on the back, with what appears to be a date of 1791....not sure if it is a date or not...perhaps someone could tell me what this is...the front still pivots forward with teeth on the inside to lock something like a belt in...it is about 1.5" wide, and a little taller than that...any ideas??

 

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[TreasureTales]

Baggins, welcome to the forum. You'll like it here, lots of nice folks and plenty of treasure to see.

Well, I'm going to GUESS that you've found a suspender buckle. The number may be the style number or something. Interesting find and I thank you for posting it. It would be nice to see the square nails and the marble, etc. It's all good.

Happy Hunting.

 

[Baggins]

Thanks, any idea on age of the buckle" will probably try to post photos of the rest of the finds tomorrow in the new finds section....all help appreciated! Like I said, I travel all the time, and only get to detect maybe 3 times a year if I am lucky....Just started last year, but have been a "hunter" all my life!

 

[TreasureTales]

Age is another guess. Maybe 1920s. Looking forward to seeing the other things.

 

[Montana Jim]

Age is another guess. Maybe 1920s. Looking forward to seeing the other things.

I was also thinking victorian... and agree that it's a belt tip or suspender buckle type deal. It's a good looking find!

 

[junkdigger]

I'm guessing that is a patent date of 8-17-1891 on the back. I often find patent dates on stuff that old.Nice find!

 

[Dharmacy]

Well I can tell ya one thing.......

They made atleast two of em!

It doesn't help with the ID, but atleast now I know what the rest of mine looked like! I found it at the site of a plantation that was burned down in 1864.

D.

 

[Baggins]

Thanks, that's great!! This was found at a log cabin way in the woods in nort Texas, fairly close to the site that was the place of the last major Indian masacre in Texas, or so I have been told...Will post more finds from that day later....

 

[Digginman]

No matter how old (I think it is very old), it's a wonderful find.

DM

 

[PBK]

The date appears to be "FEB 17, ’91." The patents for that date range from #446,411 to #446,843

I'm not certain how many suspenders patents are within that range, but one of them is #446,840. It may or may not be the patent for your find. However, bear in mind that manufactured items are sometimes quite different in appearance from the way they are depicted in their patent drawings. As a result, it is often more helpful to read the patent specifications for details of design and construction, etc. Here is a link to that patent, in case you would like to check it out:

http://patimg1.uspto.gov/.piw?Docid...&SectionNum=&idkey=NONE&Input=View+first+page

 

[Leon]

Nice looking buckle, Congrats!
Good luck, & Happy hunting~