$20,000.00 CONFEDERATE BUCKLE FOUND IN TENNESSEE

[archaphilius]

Hello there!!! I found this jewel Thursday, Nov. 17th here in Central Tennessee at a Confederate site. It is undoubtedly my best find ever!!!! I had been told the usual...that the site has been long since "hunted out". I started detecting and immediately began to find dropped William's cleaners, blank buttons, etc. Then I happened upon a hexagonal Whitworth round. I most definitely decided to concentrate my efforts in that one area of the field. After a pocketful of bullets I got a large signal with my White's XL Pro that landed the needle up around 75 on the meter. I had almost decided not to dig it because it was so loud and sounded close to the surface like some big chunks of aluminum I had been coming across in the area. But, this was a Civil War site and I knew that belt plates, especially, produced a large signal. So, I dug up a clod of soil and there it was!!! It came up with the hooks showing and I kinda stood there for a moment until it dawned on me that I was looking at a belt buckle. I turned it over and saw the CS surrounded by stars and the rest is a blur. I cannot tell you the elation I felt and I think that I walked in circles around the hole for several minutes making phone calls with my cellular before actually picking the relic up! It is a day that I will never forget. The buckle is valued in excess of $20,000.00!!!!?

 

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[Monty]

Can someone provide a brief history of that particular type buckle and why it's so valuable? Do the stars represent the confederate states? I would find such a quick note very interesting. Monty

 

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[luvmydfx]

I would love to find some Civil War memorobilia. I do not think I have a great chance of finding it living in Montana though. Nice find.

 

[archaphilius]

Thanks for all the wonderful comments, I do so love reading them!!! MONTY---the buckle's maker is, quite frankly, a mystery. General belief is that they were made by Leech & Rigdon/Memphis Novelty Works in Memphis. But that is only speculation. Yes, the 11 stars represent the 11 seceding Confederate States and it is so rare because only a handful exist in private hands and most known examples only come from the Northern Mississippi and Southern Tennessee area. Thanks----Randy

 

[Huntin' 59er]

Congrats Arch on your GREAT find ! And thanks for sharing it with the rest of us. Hit that site some more. Maybe you'll find another one like it ! Good Luck !

Huntin' 59er

 

[Keith (Indiana)]

Hello there!!! I found this jewel Thursday, Nov. 17th here in Central Tennessee at a Confederate site. It is undoubtedly my best find ever!!!! I had been told the usual...that the site has been long since "hunted out". I started detecting and immediately began to find dropped William's cleaners, blank buttons, etc. Then I happened upon a hexagonal Whitworth round. I most definitely decided to concentrate my efforts in that one area of the field. After a pocketful of bullets I got a large signal with my White's XL Pro that landed the needle up around 75 on the meter. I had almost decided not to dig it because it was so loud and sounded close to the surface like some big chunks of aluminum I had been coming across in the area. But, this was a Civil War site and I knew that belt plates, especially, produced a large signal. So, I dug up a clod of soil and there it was!!! It came up with the hooks showing and I kinda stood there for a moment until it dawned on me that I was looking at a belt buckle. I turned it over and saw the CS surrounded by stars and the rest is a blur. I cannot tell you the elation I felt and I think that I walked in circles around the hole for several minutes making phone calls with my cellular before actually picking the relic up! It is a day that I will never forget. The buckle is valued in excess of $20,000.00!!!!

I have been online for a long time checking the forums and I do believe this is one of the top ten finds I have ever seen dug. Major congratulations are in order and this is certainly a find of the year candidate! Since I used to live in East Central TN back in the late 70s and early 80s I like to think I was one of the guys who "hunted out" the site with my 6000D but I doubt that was the case. I have heard there are some nice finds being made south of Nashville at a mall development site. You didn't happen to come up with it there did you??

 

[The Seeker]

That is a supurb Find .....what you would call the find of a Life time! The only problem is ....It's gonna be hard to top That Piece....I found a Civil war Medal Commemorative that is Solid Bronze and a little bigger than a Silver Dollar.It was given to a soldier that was a prisoner in Andersonville and survived .The medal was given to him in1914 he was still alive and New York state gave him the medal .I found it on some land we own near an old foundation about 12 inches deep ...Civil war Relic are great to find and collect ,I'm sure someone will be interested in yours!!!!!!! Keep on Digging......John

 

[ringfinder]

Wow , what a GREAT FIND! I can't wait to read your story in Western & Eastern Best Finds of the Year. Hope you do a story on all your finds from that area along with the belt buckle. Again Great find!

A friend of mine here in NW Ohio found a Union Sword Belt Plate at a site we were hunting. They were tearing down houses for a new school here in Ohio and we had been hunting the site for almost a year. He found the plate in a hill of dirt that was about to be used to fill in a hole. Again and Again you just never know what you will find. Civil war artifacts can be found anywhere! I still don't have a civil war belt buckle but I do have many civil war reunion badges. One of my most prized ones is from Atlanta with the date of 1909 on it.

Best of luck in selling your Great Find. My hopes is that you sell it to a museum so that we can all go and see it! HH ringfinder from Ohio