relic and jewelry finds

[divdigger]

Continued to hunt my parents' farm in Indiana. No silver this time but I came out with some interesting relics and a couple pieces of jewelry. So far the only silver I've found is two 1926 Mercs on separate digs. That's just enough to whet my appetite--hopefully I'll eventually find more!

Here are pictures of what I found...

3 different brands of shotgun shell heads: Winchester, SR & Co (Sears Roebuck?), and Nitro Club (all within a 100 sq ft area)

old buckle and copper bracelet with southwestern design

brass plate with heart-shaped cutout--the shape resembles the heal of a shoe

reed from an 1800's or early 1900's pump organ (aka harmonium)

New York City "Empire State" souvenir token (may be a token my Mom lost when she was a girl--she went to NYC in 1948 and grew up on the farm)

decorative brass drawer pull

button with "BARTE" stamped on it--possibly a button from clothing but couldn't come up with anything in a google search

 

[matmit]

Great stuff!
That heart shaped heel plate is from a woman's boot, supposedly a "Lady of the evening" so gents could follow the tracks...

 

[divdigger]

Thanks matmit! Glad to know it is a heel plate. Interesting folklore behind it too. It's just the kind of thing that makes this hobby fun!

 

[musicnut1986]

All good finds. Like the bracelet and the heel plate is very cool.

 

[rreahard]

Great finds! Congrats!

 

[HannibalNectar]

That is a heel plate. Usually the kids had designs on them. I actually got the heart , spade& club. Looking for the diamond now.

 

[budaf250]

That's cool. I also found one not long ago. My wife works at a nursing home. And took it in to show the residents. I printed out the history of the plate. And the residents got a charge out of it. It is a relic I will keep and hand down to my son. I love items like this and this hobby is the only way anyone will ever find one.

 

[divdigger]

That is a heel plate. Usually the kids had designs on them. I actually got the heart , spade& club. Looking for the diamond now.

Nice collection! I couldn't find a lot of info about them, but I read other designs were also common.

That's cool. I also found one not long ago. My wife works at a nursing home. And took it in to show the residents. I printed out the history of the plate. And the residents got a charge out of it. It is a relic I will keep and hand down to my son. I love items like this and this hobby is the only way anyone will ever find one.

Yeah, definitely a keeper! I'd never heard of heel plates before. That's what I really like about MD. You never know what you might find.

 

[HannibalNectar]

Ya I couldn't find any information on them either. I hunt alot of farm fields and I find them often. I do know they switched to iron after brass. You also will find toe plates aswell. They look like a brass "mouth guard" with a bunch of holes from nailing it to the toe of the boot. I used to toss them in my scrap pile but I keep them now. I like to keep the odd personal relics and think about who may have used it. When u look closer at these heel plates you can see the wear pattern. One side may be worn smooth so you can imagine some cowboy type farmer who's returned from the civil war. Walking on the outside of his feet. Probably marched on these plates. No better way to imagine walking in someone else's shoes then to hold it it your hand.And each find is another piece of the puzzle to a story.

 

[divdigger]

...No better way to imagine walking in someone else's shoes then to hold it it your hand.And each find is another piece of the puzzle to a story.

That's a good way to look at it. I'm really into the history of a site and I get as excited finding an interesting relic as a silver coin. I grew up there and didn't know much about it until recently, only that our family bought it "a long time ago" (1911). I found the original abstract & deed which had the complete history of ownership. I've been trying to find out all I can about it since. Now when I'm out digging I call it "research".