Odd Find.. not firearms related but interesting .. do you know what this is ?

[Dolomite`s Breezy]

Went metal detecting this morning at a place and found this little thing. Its brass and has 3 pins in the back that are bent.Looked all over the net, cant find anything comparable.. Might be civil war related but not sure..

If it helps.. it was around 6 inches deep in a wooded area known to have perhaps a stagecoach or house from way back when. Cant confirm that tho.. least not yet.

Anyone know or " think" they might now? please.. Its killing me to not know what this is..

And.. I did clean some of the patina off to see if it was brass.. should I not clean it anymore or make it all shiny?

Thanks

[mikegideon]

It's pretty cool, whatever it is.

[Guest 6.8 AR]

I couldn't find anything about it. It sure looks interesting.

Does it appear to have been broken along the bottom? It

does on the picture, but that could have been lighting.

I searched "military eagle medal", "civil war medal" on google images.

Found nothing real close. I'd take it to an antique dealer that

knows something about old medals. You may really have

something in that. I'm curious, too.

[PirateQui]

Looks very similar to a bunch of brass belt buckles My father found a few years back... I'm 80% that it's a belt buckle.. I'll try to get a pick of the eagle belt buckle he has.

[Oh Shoot]

Looks too heavy to have been worn on clothing, unless belt buckle.

Some sort of design emblem put on something more substantial, like a box/case, door, rifle butt, probably on wood or heavy leather is my guess. Which doesn't narrow it down much and certainly doesn't date it at all. Nifty find, for sure.

- OS

[MikePapa1]

I don't think it's Civil War. I've studied the Civil War for years and never seen anything like it. It looks to me to be older than that. It looks like the device on an officer's hat from the Mexican War or the Seminole War. I'll check and see what I can find out.

http://www.ushist.com/img/mw/images/1833_infantry_officer_dress_uniform_shako_l.jpg

I think it's a variation of this. Nice find.

[Chris]

I'm leaning towards a hat plate of some variety as well.

Similar to this: http://www.civilwarbuttons.com/r&m0907112.JPG

[Guest mosinon]

that's pretty cool. I wouldn't clean it at all. Not because of the value (it may hurt that, dunno) but because I'm incredibly lazy.

Very neat.

[Patton]

I don't think it's Civil War. I've studied the Civil War for years and never seen anything like it. It looks to me to be older than that. It looks like the device on an officer's hat from the Mexican War or the Seminole War. I'll check and see what I can find out.

http://www.ushist.com/img/mw/images/1833_infantry_officer_dress_uniform_shako_l.jpg

I think it's a variation of this. Nice find.

^^^Word for word what I was going to say.

[Dolomite`s Breezy]

oh wow ... how neat....

I might have to wait til the next gun shoiw.. seems there is always some sort of civil war buff there..

I appreciate all the answers

Tulip

[Dolomite_supafly]

I am the OP's husband.

The three prongs on the back appear to have been sharp and straight then bent over to secure the piece to something after they pierced whatever it was attached to. And with that I think securing it this way would not work well with fabric or at least thin fabric like clothing. And the prongs are too short for thick leather but could have been used on thinner leather.

Also, it may have originally been flat and that it had been shaped by the forces of nature as it was buried under the weight of a centuries worth of decay.

Dolomite

[Tncobra]

I've hunted civil war relics for a while, I've seen nothing like that in the field. I would say not military anyway. Most eagles either had a shield or the bird holding arrows and olive branches. Looks way to big to Be any worn piece.

Looks like some ornate civilian piece. Maybe for a door, clock etc.

What else was around where you found this. Or where did you find this. I've hunted Grainger co for quite a few years. Little valley in Blaine?

[gregintenn]

Not trying to burst your bubble, but I recall emblems similar to that being quite popular on mailboxes some years ago.

[I_Like_Pie]

Not trying to burst your bubble, but I recall emblems similar to that being quite popular on mailboxes some years ago.

That is about what I was going to say. My grandmother had something similar in Portland, TN when I was growing up. It was on her clothesline near the rain gauge and thermometer. I am sure I have it still in a box somewhere. I always thought it was cast iron, but it could have been brass.

[Dolomite`s Breezy]

Could be a mailbox thingy...BUT.. given the fact that it was under 6 inches of dirt, and the place where it was has not been occupied for at least 100 years.. no building or traffic etc on it.. did they have those back then?

[Dolomite`s Breezy]

I've hunted civil war relics for a while, I've seen nothing like that in the field. I would say not military anyway. Most eagles either had a shield or the bird holding arrows and olive branches. Looks way to big to Be any worn piece.

Looks like some ornate civilian piece. Maybe for a door, clock etc.

What else was around where you found this. Or where did you find this. I've hunted Grainger co for quite a few years. Little valley in Blaine?

Not Little Valley

[Dolomite`s Breezy]

That is about what I was going to say. My grandmother had something similar in Portland, TN when I was growing up. It was on her clothesline near the rain gauge and thermometer. I am sure I have it still in a box somewhere. I always thought it was cast iron, but it could have been brass.

Try to find it.. if it is.. i am just curious how it got there....and it if is .. very odd to find it in that place..

[Guest manofsteel]

my father had a leather gun holster that had a eagle something like that on it. it was just above the snap for the flap that folded over the grip..i know this dont help but it a good find.

[Dolomite`s Breezy]

Have to correct something. There was a house there.. Husband said it wasnt there 35 years ago.. so it was gone before he set foot on it..Going to find out tommorow who lived there.. I also looked some more on internet and the mailbox idea or some sort of ornamental thingy is prolly more like it.. if its just a neat little ornamental find then I prolly will polish it up and mount it on the back of my saddle..

And here we thought we can retire.. lol

Thank you for all the info and help.. stuff like this drives me absolutly nuts not know what it is..

[Ebow1]

Well, whatever it is, don't clean it. At least not until you figure out for certain what you wanna do with it. If it is any kind of antique then the biggest mistake you can make is trying to clean/fix it. If not, and you wanna use it for decorative purposes, then knock yourself out, but hte fact of the matter is that restoration absolutely destroys the resale value of any antique.

Now, I have to redeeem myself being that I am a human male and have just given an indepth answer about antiqueing. That being said I willl explain my answer:

1. My dad used to work for a scrapyard (Steiner Liff for those who know it) and talked constantly about the treatment of precious metals.

2. After that job he went to work for a coin store and talked EVEN MORE about the treatment of precious metals.

3. I recieved an antique telescope as a tip while on delivery with Domino's and asked my dad the best course of action to take, and essentially recieved a crash course on how to handle basically any metal antique.

4. All of my knowledge about antiques has been used to make a profit off of them and has therefore eliminated any claim to me being a girly man due to my knowledge of antiques as those profits have been mostly used to purchase gun stuff.

[Dolomite`s Breezy]

Duly noted Ebow1..

Wont clean it until I find out what it is..

We also found a old car dial.. looks to be a gauge of some sort but cant tell what model. .and a clock cog.. or a wheel with teeth.. I really dont care if its a antique.. I just like finding stuff. Its really fun to dig in the dirt and seeing something that other people owned so long ago.. I wish I could get a story on some of the old stuff we unearthed

[Ebow1]

1. I seem to have an uncanny talent for making the last post on a page, causing my to select the page I made the last post on without knowing it.

2. Yeah, the whole antique thing, if you give any metal antique (especially silver) enough time without ever cleaning it, it will take on a rainbow appearance that dramatically skyrockets the value.

[Guest Jamie]

If it helps.. it was around 6 inches deep in a wooded area known to have perhaps a stagecoach or house from way back when. Cant confirm that tho.. least not yet.

Could be an ornament off a horse's harness, maybe... If it were attached to one piece of leather, then that piece sewn onto another.

If there was a stagecoach that passed through there, I suppose it's possible that was part of their company logo...

[Guest BEARMAN]

That could also have come from an old piece of furniture. Possibly from the top center of a chifferobe (sp) or, maybe a old antique dresser from the victorian era.

Its a beautiful find regardless, Tulip.

[Dolomite_supafly]

I will expound on the area in which is was found. The area is a known as a civil war encampment. A neighbor of ours (less than 1/4 miles away) tilled up civil war items the first year he moved into his house and at least one every year since as he puts his garden it. They are documneted as civil war items. As I child I found a stage coach token while they were building the same neighbors house, it too was taken to UT and documented from a time pre 1900. Within 1 mile, as the crow flies, there a place that it is said one side used to signal during the civil war. This is some of the higher ground in the area.

Also, being in the military I have a pretty good idea of how someone would set up and protect a front. On one side of the mountain there are obvious signs of fox holes or battle positions. Falling trees can create what appears to be fox holes but the ods of several semi circular sets of fox holes created by falling trees is to much, for me anyways, to ignore.

I do not believe there were any battles fought in the immediate area because I have never heard of anyone finding a miniball of musket ball.

Not really sure if this helps judging the find my wife has made or not. I will say that unless we find an exact duplicate of what she found it is all specualtion as to what it is. There have been so many things over the years that the eagle has been the symbol on and it would be hard for anyone to remember something exactly like her find without having one in hand. One thing is for sure, it is old and was under at least 6" of soil.

Dolomite