Didn’t see this one coming

[MasonDixonMding]

I was looking at the long range forecast for this area and it’s looking like some cold weather moving in for maybe the next month. Which might mean the ground is going to freeze. Even though my back is hurting I thought I better get out and do some swinging before it freezes. I’ve had my eye on this spot for awhile but just couldn't find the time to get to it. It’s in the woods and it had just snowed a little so everything was wet. Including me! There were a lot of trees down and I couldn’t cover much ground. I started out by finding the well. The stuff that I was finding was modern. After a few dozen holes of junk when I dug this signal I was expecting more of the same. I flipped the dirt out and this buckle popped right out. It come out face side up. There was hardly any dirt on it and it couldn’t have been deeper than 5or6” down. So when I first saw it I thought modern buckle. I’ve been fooled by a modern buckle in the past. But after looking at the back it looks old? This couldn’t be real? Could it? I sent a pic to a friend. Asking if it was modern or not. He thought I was messing with him. But he looked it up in his book and told me it was real and it was 1850s to 1865. I didn’t find much else. My back was hurting so I cut this hunt short. I plan on going back to go over it better.
This is a great start to my 2026 season!

 

[Fredneck]

Holy crap !! Awesome War time Militia plate !! Congrats !!

 

[HungryGhost]

Nice! Glad you got out before the freeze. My back hurts too, from shoveling snow two days in a row

 

[hoser]

OH come on! If you look close to the latching pin it clearly says Made in Chin...........J/K what an outstanding find. That's one of those once in a lifetime find. Well done my friend.

 

[stetam]

Wow great find!! Wish they had them in my area.

 

[Fredneck]

Wow great find!! Wish they had them in my area.

They can be found in your area, my area, anyones area, but the odds of you or I finding one, well lets not Mason's head get to big lol.

 

[markinmichigan]

That's a one in a bunch find, sweet and good job.

 

[MasonDixonMding]

They can be found in your area, my area, anyones area, but the odds of you or I finding one, well lets not Mason's head get to big lol.

After doing a little research on this. I found that they were used on both sides of the war. Although both sides were in this area I’m thinking this was probably worn by the north. I was only able to find two examples that were the same as this one. So I’m guessing it fairly rare.

 

[C-COD]

Excellent find. Congratulations.

 

[jwp1964]

Amazing find. Congrats!

 

[JCR]

Excellent.

 

[The Rebel]

That's an awesome find!

 

[LovestheShiny!]

Wow... historic, great shape, wonderful find!

 

[Jelly_936]

Great find! Congratulations!

 

[History Hound 1]

Congrats on a awesome piece of history. Best of luck on any return trips.

 

[MasonDixonMding]

Congrats on an awesome piece of history. Best of luck on any return trips.

I can’t wait to get back out there. I was only there for a little more than a hour. My back was hurting and I wouldn’t have normally gone but I saw the forecast and wanted to get out before the snow and cold weather come in. It turned out that was a good call. At best I might be able to get out in a week and half. Just need the snow to melt some more.