Any ideas of what this could be??

[TokenMan]

***update*** Any furniture guys out there? Possibly IFCO-International Furniture Co plate Can't find much info though. It is def. post 1889 (there is a clear picture of the Eiffel Tower on the left/middle side after I cleaned a bit more) Neat piece, but no clue


Hey guys-
This is my first post. I have read a bunch of times on here, seems like every time I googled something...I ended up here. You have a great site! Well, I finally found something that is (what I think) pretty neat. I thought I finally had my 1st box plate, but several toothpics later, this is what emerged. Quick history of where: a home site built in 40's but very near civil war activity in Virginia. In this yard I have dug, IH's, a ton of wheaties, 8 silver, lots of clad, a very neat SCV plate dated 1940 from a convention, a few eagle buttons, and a handful of bullets both fired and dropped. Kind of the Walmart of diggin. Anyway, this piece has stumped me, dug it yesterday. The size is same as a plate, brass, however the back has what seem to be 4 rivets (?) in the corners. BTW, those are what I think to be brears on the lower sides. Sorry I could not get a pic of back, camera on phone is broken and had to scan piece, and didn't think it would work but it did! But not the back. So if you have any ideas of helping me ID would be great. Thank you in advance.

 

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[TheCannonballGuy]

TokenMan, welcome to TreasureNet and the "What Is It" forum, the best place on the internet for getting unknown objects CORRECTLY identified.

Please try to get a digital photo of your brass plate's back. That would help a lot in determining its correct identification.

Meanwhile... you say it has four "rivets" on its back, which indicates it isn't a beltplate, but instead is some sort of identification plate mounted on a larger object.

Its front seems to show a city scene on the left, a forest scene on the right, and some intertwined letters at its center. Please do some additional gentle cleaning with your toothpick to make the letters clearer. At the moment, I think I see (unknown letter), an I, then an F, with smaller letters C and O interwined among the larger letters. The smaller letters C and O probably stand for Company, with the larger letters representing the initials of the company's name.

I should mention, the distinctive style (or "font") of those letters became widely popular in the 1880s, on into the very-early 1900s. That fact leads me to believe your brass plate dates from sometime in that time-period, but not as far back as the civil war era. However, there always seem to be some exceptions to a general rule. ;-)

 

[jeff of pa]

no legit idea from me but I figured if I try to paint the lines which I cannot stay inside of

This is what I get



only thing that comes to mind is IOOF (International Order of Odd Fellows) belt plate

but the/my scribbling doesn't fit

 

[deepsecrets]

Perhaps it is an ID plate from vintage luggage/steamer trunk - the scenes to the left look like world landmarks, Eiffel Tower, White House/St. Peters Rome, etc.??

 

[jeff of pa]

if not for the center Hub this looks
like it could be made to carry a Name or Serial Number within the Red area

 

[johnnyi]

I too think it may be associated with an independent order; perhaps the independent or of foresters?

 

[jeff of pa]

or fire fighters

 

[Tony in SC]

My old hit&miss engines and other epuiptment have plates like. Like Jeff said, the two spaces would have size/hp/model and serial number. Tony

if not for the center Hub this looks
like it could be made to carry a Name or Serial Number within the Red area

View attachment 1044395

 

[TokenMan]

Thank you guys! cannonball: I picked it a bit more and you are correct for sure. There is an I & F and a smaller C & O. I didn't even see the C until I cleaned more. Another interesting detail came out in cleaning, the flat area on the bottom is actually curved back on the ends...kind of like the "scroll" banner on this site. I have searched and searched, but still have come up with nuttin. The detail on this thing is amazing. The fur on the bears is coming out and the detail in the leaves. Still just not sure As soon as I can get a digital pic, I will take a new pic and a shot of the back. Thanks again everyone, and if anyone has an idea, please let me know.

 

[nhbenz]

Regarding what Tony in SC mentioned above, I wonder if this is related: GRAY engine with IFCO cast on hopper - SmokStak

 

[TokenMan]

Well, as I "dug" deeper I came by something. Was wondering if anyone has heard of IFCO-International Furniture Company? All I know is they were from the UK. Or one company was? They did make a chest or trunk, but I cannot match the plate. Anyway, what raises my brows is, the site was once the mayors house of the town in the 30's-40's...money...politician type. Again, this yard has yielded some good stuff, much older than when the house was built. Maybe a plate off some sort of fancy furniture piece? Just not sure of where it would be located...there is so much detail on this thing that leads me to believe it would have been somewhere where you could see it. Was it a commom practice to put such a said plate on a furniture piece? Anyone know furniture? Thanks.

 

[TokenMan]

Any late 1800's-early 1900's furniture people out there that have seen anything like this? Thanks.

 

[Arid-Zone-A-seeker]

How about doing a paper and pencil rubbing of the plate,,,can help to see items not clear in photos, ?

 

[baspinall]

I was thinking Odd Fellows at first but .........

 

[baspinall]

Also see two animals. One bottom left and one bottom right. Bull And Bear?

 

[TokenMan]

ok. This is what I have come up with on the plate as far as detail.
The left side "city scene" as cannonball called it, the buildings appear to be:
1. The Notre-Dame de Paris
2. The Pantheon
3. The Eiffel Tower
All of which are located in France

On the right side "forest scene", has a huge tree which appears to have a door at the base.
"Saint Anne Chapel in Normandy lies within the hollow trunk of one of two 1,000-1,300 year old Yew trees in the cemetery at La Haye-de-Routot village in the Brotonne Regional Park in France via The Morthouse"
Maybe

At the bottom is two bears over a scroll. There are brown bears in France.

Throughout is detailed leaves and flowers.

And finally, 4 fancy letters" an I, F, C, and an O in the center that are somewhat intertwined.

But...still no clue

 

[johnnyi]

I believe you have one more letter, a "T". from left to right the three large letters are "T I F" with a smaller "C O" intertwined in the center.
The bottom sphere seems to be the world. (Paris world's Fair, trade fair, etc.?).
If you definately see scenes of Paris, it may be a company that was exhibiting at the Paris Exposition with "CO" standing for "company" ?
Does anybody else see a door or tunnel in the base of a tree sililar to the once famous redwood in our National Park? (or is tht something else?)

 

[TokenMan]

Thanks for taking a look johnnyi. Given some interesting things to ponder on. BTW, I dug a 1918 merc today in the same yard. Like I said, no telling. The house isn't period...but the ground is I've pulled civil war relics to 2013 pennies out of this yard over the last year. It's been a neat place to hunt for sure, because you never know what is coming out of ground. But up until this plate, I knew what it all was So, I'm gonna keep trying to figure out what and where this thing came from. That is half the fun anyway! Thanks again for the looks and if you have any ideas, please let me know.

 

[Red James Cash]

no legit idea from me but I figured if I try to paint the lines which I cannot stay inside of

This is what I get

Come on Jeff lets see some more of your Salvador Dali surrealist work.

 

[TokenMan]

Not sure if this pic is any better or not...