✅ SOLVED Very Strange All Lead Piece

[ModernMiner]

Dug this piece at an 1870's house.
It is made of ALL LEAD. It has damage at the three tines area as you can see.
I have no idea what its pursose was? Mechanical piece?
Any guesses on this mystery item?
Thanks,
MM

 

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[Doubter in MD]

I don't know what it is, but I'm guessing it's made of white metal. From Wikipedia:

"
The white metals are a series of often decorative bright metal alloys used as a base for plated silverware, ornaments or novelties, as well as any of several lead-based or tin-based alloys used for things like bearings, jewellery, miniature figures, fusible plugs, some medals and metal type.[1] The term is also used in the antiques trade for an item suspected of being silver, but not hallmarked.

A white metal alloy may include antimony, tin, lead, cadmium, bismuth, and zinc (some of which are quite toxic). Not all of these metals are found in all white metal alloys. Metals are mixed to achieve a desired goal or need. As an example, a base metal for jewellery needs to be castable, polishable, have good flow characteristics, have the ability to cast fine detail without an excessive amount of porosity and cast at between 230 and 300 °C (446 and 572 °F).[1]"

 

[TheCannonballGuy]

Your find is the hardened-lead terminal post from a 1920s/30s car battery. Or at least, that's what I was told when I dug one which looks nearly identical to yours.

 

[ModernMiner]

Your find is the hardened-lead terminal post from a 1920s/30s car battery. Or at least, that's what I was told when I dug one which looks nearly identical to yours.

Thanks CBG. Civil war car battery? 🤪
I never thought this one would be solved.
I will mark this one SOLVED.
MM

 

[TheCannonballGuy]

ModernMiner wrote:
> Thanks CBG. Civil war car battery? 🤪
> I never thought this one would be solved.

You're welcome. To help you a bit further (and perhaps confirm that the identification of your find is correct), I went looking for a photo I vaguely remembered. Found it, and here it is. It shows a cut-open 1920s lead-acid battery for cars, revealing what the "other end" of the hardened-lead terminal post looks like. Although it's not 100% exactly the same as yours, it does show what the flat plates under the post are for.

 

[ModernMiner]

ModernMiner wrote:
> Thanks CBG. Civil war car battery? 🤪
> I never thought this one would be solved.

You're welcome. To help you a bit further (and perhaps confirm that the identification of your find is correct), I went looking for a photo I vaguely remembered. Found it, and here it is. It shows a cut-open 1920s lead-acid battery for cars, revealing what the "other end" of the hardened-lead terminal post looks like. Although it's not 100% exactly the same as yours, it does show what the flat plates under the post are for.

That is so cool. Another learning experience for me. I would have never guessed that in a million years.
Don’t ever leave Tnet please. 🙏
Thanks CBG.