Some old coins a some old relics...

[Bucknut]

I have not been able to detect as much the past few weeks but here are my finds. I managed a little bit of everything...a few mercs, a couple old nickels and a nice indian from 1894.

The relics I got last night. A brass buckle, a WW1 general service button (I think any ways) and a heel plate with a heart in it.

Now I have a question...is the heel plate possibly from a soldier during the civil war? or is it the calling card from a "working" girl back in the day? I did a little research on it and there seems to be info claiming that both are possibilities. I am no expert on this sort of thing...civil war or prostitutes...so I am hoping you guys can share some info that you know about it with me.

50773

50775

50774

[MangoAve]

Nice IH and button. Yes the button is WWI - WWII era. Got lucky with the buff and the V.

:beatdeadhorse: on the heel plate. You did get a nice find... but about the explanation. There's always conflicting info on anything. It is a nice story, tho, even if folklore. I did see one site even state the soldiers didn't wear the heart pattern because they wouldn't want to be able to be tracked. Ummmm.... so a star pattern or a clover pattern or even the hex pattern can't be tracked while the heart style can?? :crazy: Supposedly one seller saying the heart pattern is rare. Well, I think the majority I have seen posted are the heart. Second is the generic hex, then the star and clover being least posted about. There was something that I would have an easier time believing is that the heart is actually just a single leaf of the clover. The possibility of the patterns being used to signify info to other soldiers... maybe, but unlikely. I'd prob believe the best answer is these were all boot plate designs and whomever used what they want. I've found these at cellar holes; Not everyone was enlisted.

[Bucknut]

Nice IH and button. Yes the button is WWI - WWII era. Got lucky with the buff and the V.

:beatdeadhorse: on the heel plate. You did get a nice find... but about the explanation. There's always conflicting info on anything. It is a nice story, tho, even if folklore. I did see one site even state the soldiers didn't wear the heart pattern because they wouldn't want to be able to be tracked. Ummmm.... so a star pattern or a clover pattern or even the hex pattern can't be tracked while the heart style can?? :crazy: Supposedly one seller saying the heart pattern is rare. Well, I think the majority I have seen posted are the heart. Second is the generic hex, then the star and clover being least posted about. There was something that I would have an easier time believing is that the heart is actually just a single leaf of the clover. The possibility of the patterns being used to signify info to other soldiers... maybe, but unlikely. I'd prob believe the best answer is these were all boot plate designs and whomever used what they want. I've found these at cellar holes; Not everyone was enlisted.

Your thoughts seem logical and I think you are probably right in that this probably could have come from anybody. With the dead horse thing I guess this is a topic that has been talked/debated about for awhile now.

[MangoAve]

Your thoughts seem logical and I think you are probably right in that this probably could have come from anybody. With the dead horse thing I guess this is a topic that has been talked/debated about for awhile now.

...I could be wrong, but the logic says it's most likely the way I said it. If there is a history book that says a definitive answer then I can digress. And yup. Not to sound disdainful or 'wth' about it, but there has been many stating and/or debating that part, on not just this forum.

[Bucknut]

...I could be wrong, but the logic says it's most likely the way I said it. If there is a history book that says a definitive answer then I can digress. And yup. Not to sound disdainful or 'wth' about it, but there has been many stating and/or debating that part, on not just this forum.

Well I took your thoughts as being not being disdainful. I would think that if there was a definitive Civil War connection then there would be more documents leading to that history.

I guess I missed all of the debates about these...I live a sheltered life.

[Digger_O'Dell]

I'm not an expert here either on heel plates, but what I gathered from reading history is that they were functional for preventing undue wear on the boot heels, but the pattern was just a fashion trend of the times. The pattern itself I would guess is just either to the owners taste, or what was available.

As for the coins, I have to say those nickles are in fantastic condition, rarely have I seen them come out of the ground like that.

[wisconsin digger]

Great finds including the relics. Nice think about relics there are always stories. Nice hunt WD

[Cheap Thrills]

Nice finds Bucknut , you did good . The U.S. silver dimes have been successful at eluding me so far this year .I love finding Mercs or older .Roosie silver is nice but that design has gotten tiring . After they went from silver to clad I think they should have put Bozo the clown on the obverse and a pigeon on the reverse .

[OxShoeDrew]

Very nice hunting! That V is in spectacular shape.
I personally believe those heel plates were worn by average men, out in the fields. That's where I find them. I have no other proof.

[MangoAve]

...lol. ok. Just making sure I cover my A. Some infer tone with the text which never works out well. (I say this and one time recently I thought wording inferred irritation and I was wrong.. not exercising the above notion). I didn't wanna kill a dream to think it could be, but I guess it seems there's a concensus.

There's no saying they couldn't be around during the CW. I do think these showed up after 1850. They didn't have sneakers back then. There were a lot with boots and like DOD said, they had the plates to limit heel wear. I say time Frame of after 1850 because these look stamped. Not cast. The machine to stamp metal would have come along during the industrial revolution when a huge amount of patents came out.

[Bucknut]

...lol. ok. Just making sure I cover my A. Some infer tone with the text which never works out well. (I say this and one time recently I thought wording inferred irritation and I was wrong.. not exercising the above notion). I didn't wanna kill a dream to think it could be, but I guess it seems there's a concensus.

There's no saying they couldn't be around during the CW. I do think these showed up after 1850. They didn't have sneakers back then. There were a lot with boots and like DOD said, they had the plates to limit heel wear. I say time Frame of after 1850 because these look stamped. Not cast. The machine to stamp metal would have come along during the industrial revolution when a huge amount of patents came out.

Lol...yes your A is covered. Thanks for your thoughts on the plate...the more I read about it the more I think anyone could have had these...no real proof one way or the other.

[Bucknut]

Nice finds Bucknut , you did good . The U.S. silver dimes have been successful at eluding me so far this year .I love finding Mercs or older .Roosie silver is nice but that design has gotten tiring . After they went from silver to clad I think they should have put Bozo the clown on the obverse and a pigeon on the reverse .

I completely agree with you. I wish Lady Liberty would be put back on our coinage...much easier on the eyes! I currently have found 10 mercs without a Rosie which is a nice streak for me since I hunt public places so much.

[del]

nice coins and relics Bucknut :clapping::thumbsup02: I agree I miss "lady Liberty " from our coinage , she has transformed to many images over our country's history .here are some of my favorites .

[Lodge Scent]

Nice digs! You don't often get a Buffalo with that much detail left.....at I never do. :congrats:

[Fire Fighter 43]

Congrats on some nice finds, WTG. Sorry I can't help you out on the heel plate research.