Why aluminum cans turn out to be Colonial Cross Belt Plates

smokeythecat

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Nov 22, 2012
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Yes, go ahead and ignore that can! This puppy was found on a nearly 400 year old site. I was doing an organized dig and I guess about 15 something people passed right over or by it. It is a colonial period cross belt plate, made for the slightly wider belts of the late 17th to mid 18th century. Sand cast brass, clipped corners and carefully beveled edges. There are six of the hooks on the back, four are still about perfect, and are still bent over to attach to a standard man's thickness shoulder belt. The leather belt would have been 1/4" thick or less. gauging from the bend of the hooks. Makes identification very convincing. Similar types were used later by the Confederates, most were sheet brass, and they were reused from earlier folks. Similar pieces have been found that were meant for horsie furniture, but they have longer hooks on the back, and some were also made to attach to wooden trunks of the colonial period, but they have longer attaching studs, and the studs were made differently. I also got 4 colonial coppers, 1 George II, 1 George I with full date 1729, the one shown standing, two George III's pretty toasted, but clear enough to make out the monarch and they are contemporary counterfeits as determined by the thickness and quality. Also about 20 pieces of aluminum cans, the genuine aluminum, and some thin sheet brass pieces. I have annealed some of the brass to unbend it, and believe due to the consistent thickness, it is modern.

I also found three colonial buttons, the one is 17th century as it has that awesome offset "U" shaped shank. Have a piece of a bellarmine from another trip and more miscellaneous.

I have never found one of these and I managed NOT to ding it with the shovel. Imagine! No dinging! You don't see these anymore, and this one is mint! IMG_1382.JPGIMG_1383.JPGIMG_1385.JPGIMG_1386.JPG
 

Upvote 22
You did well by paying attention to that 'can'! :thumbsup:
 

I forgot to measure it. Will do next time I'm able to move my old cat carcass off the couch.

Ok, got off couch - 68 x 85 mm or for us USA types, 2 3/4" x 3 5/8".
 

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Awesome finds!

I was near some CW gun pits and under a massive live oak when I got a really loud signal on my Nautilus. Figured it was a flattened soda can and started to pass it up when I started thinking I had not dug any trash and just some 3 ringers. What the hey, went back to it and foot swept the mat of leaves away expecting to see a flattened soda can. Instead I saw the flash of silver as it shot away on a foot sweep. 1921 Morgan silver dollar. The only thing I can think of was it was a hunter's drop. Spent half the morning trying to convince my digging buddy I really did find it out there under the tree.

Check dem soda cans!
 

I had two people actually see me dig this one. Earlier in the day I dig a hole and pull another copper out of the ground, and yell over to my digging buddy, well yelling got a lot of attention, that was copper #3 of the day. We had moved from one field to an area that had an old house, and it was only 1-2" deep. Thought for sure it was trash, as there were some zinc can lids nearby. But on the other had, didn't quite have the ring on my new Deus as aluminum does, had a slightly deeper tone, never looked at the meter. Was a no brainer to dig, you never know.
 

Great coin and relic hunt, congratulations!
 

I wish I could agree with you that it's a military plate, but I don't, nor do most collectors I would suspect.
 

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Not necessarily military, but for human sized leather. Not for horsies or a wooden trunk. Attachments are way too short. They are intact and made more for your current belt.
 

Wow that is some good digging I wish we had that kind of history there. I think some of my best finds were ones that most people would have passed over.. That's why your good at what you do Thanks for sharing all those cool finds!!!!
 

Nice Finds! drooling...The silver James 1 would be 1603-1625. Now I'm kicking myself for skipping some of those scratchy tones. You expect old to be deep but not on farms that have been turned over for hundreds of years. Great job rescuing those beauties
 

and some of us are stuck out in the midwest, where nothing was ever dropped but beercan tops
 

That's quite true about tornadoes.
 

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