1700s Mold - For What?

Don in SJ

Silver Member
May 20, 2005
4,932
837
Detector(s) used
MINELAB SE Pro
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
1700's Mold - For What?

I have been trying for quite awhile to get a positive ID on this iron brass piece I found a few years ago. I will not say what answers that have been suggested previously so as not to influence anybody here. I have had some good suggestions as to what it possibly might have been used for, but never a solid answer that makes sense.

It was found at a homesite that yielded only 1700 era buttons and coins, so the age of it is not of question.

Hopefully the second photo will show, if not I will post separately, in the second set of photos I used silly putty to show what the end result might look like, in order to help with the identification.

Don
 

Attachments

  • mold2.jpg
    mold2.jpg
    132.9 KB · Views: 984
Re: 1700's Mold - For What?

Here is the Silly Putty mold from the artifact.

Don
 

Attachments

  • Sillyputtymold.jpg
    Sillyputtymold.jpg
    75.8 KB · Views: 1,006
Upvote 0
Re: 1700's Mold - For What?

Don't know what it is , but you might want to get a special bra for that silly putty . Nice find!

mojjax
 

Upvote 0
Re: 1700's Mold - For What?

the starburst in the center of the one looks familiar...couldnt it be a mold for that era ring?
 

Upvote 0
Re: 1700's Mold - For What?

there is a piece missing that covers the top....possibly for beads????
 

Upvote 0
Re: 1700's Mold - For What?

Well so far I think Mojjax might be the closest in a funny way. One thing I thought was possible, but I got shot down on by others, but I will say it anyway, that I thought it was part of a mold for button or tack making.

When I recently saw a friends artifact collection, he had buttons from the 17th century (1600's) that were rather crude on one side but were fairly nice on the outward side and the name for the type of button is called a "nipple button".
Here is a photo of one of the ones he has found. If you goggle search nipple button 17th century you will find a site or two with another photo of this type of 17th century button.

Anyway, a food for thought on a possible answer.

Michelle, a mold for jewelry is a nice guess, but I think due to the location, the site was most likely related to workers for a saw mill or iron forge, that jewelry making would be lower on my list of possibilities.

Michelle, I do believe the "other half" might be missing if there was one. Believe me I went back many times trying to find if there was another piece.

Still hoping for some more attempts for IDing this. :)

JT. as far as the square peg end , I think that might be where it fit into an anvil, like a Hardie, which is what I originally identified this as, but for an unknown purpose, but since then I believe that Hardie's were only used by Blacksmiths for cutting objects during manufacture....
JT, I think the holes were slots either for the other half to fit into or allow gasses to escape?



Don
 

Attachments

  • nip buttons.jpg
    nip buttons.jpg
    129.7 KB · Views: 940
Upvote 0
Re: 1700's Mold - For What?

Another possibilty could be for putting the decorative stuff around a picture frame . I've seen real old wooden frames with plaster decorations , then guilded . It kind of has a 'fluting iron' curve to it .

mojjax
 

Upvote 0
Re: 1700's Mold - For What?

mojjax said:
It kind of has a 'fluting iron' curve to it .

I think that's probably the best evidence that it has some purpose other than as a casting mold. If it were for casting, it should be level, not curved. Otherwise, if more than one or two buttons were being cast at a time, those near the ends would be thinner on one edge. Also, the shapes appear rather irregular for buttons. Here's a typical early 1800's button mold:
BTN-1.jpgBTN-2.jpg
 

Upvote 0
Re: 1700's Mold - For What?

The buttons you have above are more commonly called "Pimple" Buttons & are indeed 17th century. The ones pictured were often used on English Civil War jackets. "Nipple" is more of a slang name given to them.

As detailed in Gordon Baileys book - "Buttons & Fasteners"
 

Upvote 0
Re: 1700's Mold - For What?

dugupfinds said:
The buttons you have above are more commonly called "Pimple" Buttons & are indeed 17th century. The ones pictured were often used on English Civil War jackets. "Nipple" is more of a slang name given to them.

As detailed in Gordon Baileys book - "Buttons & Fasteners"

Got the term from Colchester's metal detecting finds site :)
 

Upvote 0
Re: 1700's Mold - For What?

I believe the curve in it was the reason for discarding, I said earlier I think it was made to fit into a hardie slot on a blacksmith's anvil, which means it was most likely being struck with a hammer and that the curvature came from repeated blows and the curvature would distort the roundness as the metal curves.

Also, as Michelle stated and I agreed with that it is most likely only one half of the artifact and the mystery continues, since it still is an unknown relic. :(

Don
 

Upvote 0
Re: 1700's Mold - For What?

"Got the term from Colchester's metal detecting finds site"

They should know better :-[

I thought the same as you. Looks like its been hammered alot but the holes would indicate a lining up of the other half of a mould. Doesn't make sense as a mould needs no hammering??
 

Upvote 0
Re: 1700's Mold - For What?

OK, since things are slow and going the wrong direction, I said I had previously tried and failed, I have been in contact with experts and here is a reply from one at Williamsburg, Va that I received in July 2005.

I sent the photos to Erik Goldstein at Williamsburg, here is his reply:

Hi Don,

Thanks for your email - a most curious object! To be honest, I'm not sure
what it is exactly, but here are my thoughts.

It certainly isn't a nail header - these are completely different, and of
much heavier construction.

It's not a hardy either - even though it has a square-section post, it
doesn't appear to be of sufficient weight to be used as a "swage" for
glowing iron to be beaten into.

Being that it has registration depressions at the 4 corners, this is the
bottom half of some sort of casting mold - but to cast what? The shapes
made are odd, especially with their crude attempts at embellishment. If
the cavities were better formed, I might think a button mold, or perhaps
fishing sinkers, but I have to say "uncle" in this case.

Sorry!

Regards,

Erik

Erik Goldstein
Curator of Mechanical Arts & Numismatics
The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation
P.O. Box 1776
Williamsburg, VA 23187

See why it has remained a mystery, believe me, I have tried for a long time and was hoping to finally get an answer.........

Don
 

Upvote 0
Re: 1700's Mold - For What?

LOL Michelle, I was looking at the site a few minutes before your post and the one site shows a rivet one and I did have a reply from a blacksmith over a year ago suggesting it was a rivet heading tool.

17. Rivet Heading and Dressing Spheres :

Large and small blocks including artist blacksmith blocks and dapping blocks have various hemispherical depressions that can be used for a number of things. Support for rivet heading is a common task replacing a rivet set or used in conjunction with a rivet set. The same depression can be used to form or dress a forged rivet head.

Hemispherical depressions can also be used for dressing balls and spheres.

Small hemispherical depressions for rivet heading can be added to existing blocks using a ball end mill the way they are formed in dapping blocks.

So it is possible, still searching... Thanks for the help

Don
 

Upvote 0

Top Member Reactions

Users who are viewing this thread

Back
Top