🔎 UNIDENTIFIED Unknown Massachusetts Militia Piece

[paleomaxx]

Found this on Saturday, but only just got around to cleaning it up and saw that it not only had writing, but that it has Massachusetts Militia on it! It's a very thin piece of silvered copper sheet and unfortunately it's incomplete. The homestead I found it at had been detected before so this may be a fragment of a larger piece that was broken up and they failed to recover this out of the hole.

The other finds were 1780's through 1820's so this is probably in that range, although I tend to think closer to the 1820's side. At first I thought it was part of a hat badge, but it's very thin and I can't find an exact match. The back has a trace of solder and rust from iron so it may have had an iron backing at one time. Anyone able to find a match or have seen a complete example anywhere?

 

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[vpnavy]

Wonder if it could have been part of a belt buckle?

 

[paleomaxx]

Wonder if it could have been part of a belt buckle?

Could be if it had an iron backing originally, although the material is the same thickness as the 1812 era hat plate that I found at another site recently. I looked through the Campbell book of American Military Insignia and didn't see a match so it was unknown at the time of publishing.

 

[GoldieLocks]

Is that a French Fleur de LIS on the bottom left? I see lots of references to, "John P. Etts"
and also a possible, "Crockett's Militia" online. " The Crockett's were originally French," landholders in TN...see

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://www.brentwoodtn.gov/home/showdocument%3Fid%3D115&ved=2ahUKEwjA1YHX6pz4AhWbmo4IHddSDdYQFnoECAkQAQ&usg=AOvVaw16XywrJn47z2j1s1XndjGQ

 

[Vermont treasure hunter]

Is that a French Fleur de LIS on the bottom left? I see lots of references to, "John P. Etts"
and also a possible, "Crockett's Militia" online. " The Crockett's were originally French," landholders in TN...see

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://www.brentwoodtn.gov/home/showdocument%3Fid%3D115&ved=2ahUKEwjA1YHX6pz4AhWbmo4IHddSDdYQFnoECAkQAQ&usg=AOvVaw16XywrJn47z2j1s1XndjGQ

I believe it’s the top to a hat that is part of the Massachusetts coat of arms. Like this one. Not the same, but similar.

 

[Huntster54]

Found this on Saturday, but only just got around to cleaning it up and saw that it not only had writing, but that it has Massachusetts Militia on it! It's a very thin piece of silvered copper sheet and unfortunately it's incomplete. The homestead I found it at had been detected before so this may be a fragment of a larger piece that was broken up and they failed to recover this out of the hole.

View attachment 2026176

The other finds were 1780's through 1820's so this is probably in that range, although I tend to think closer to the 1820's side. At first I thought it was part of a hat badge, but it's very thin and I can't find an exact match. The back has a trace of solder and rust from iron so it may have had an iron backing at one time. Anyone able to find a match or have seen a complete example anywhere?

Just perusing all the finds. Could this be from an ammo bag? I don't have any examples myself, but I think I saw some on this forum already.

 

[paleomaxx]

Just perusing all the finds. Could this be from an ammo bag? I don't have any examples myself, but I think I saw some on this forum already.

The cartridge box plates I've seen tend to be pretty heavy brass to keep the flap down and this is quite a thin sheet. Maybe it had an iron backing at one time, but I don't think I've seen any box plates with the same design. Do you know which threads the others were posted on?