CUFFLINKS Thread! Best, Oldest, Most Unique, or just found!

[Iron Patch]

Post your... Complete cufflink or just a single side/ individual cufflink button.

1) Found with a Rev War Officer button, the cufflinks were no doubt his.

2) Solid silver, "B" represents the surname from the site. (Beers)

3) Tallyho - looking at this one again I'm pretty sure I can clean it better.

4) Sailing Ships

5) Very early hot air balloon.

6) For years I've wondered about these 3 glass ones with the back to back letter C. All were from different sites, both with French and British finds. Just a few weeks ago looking up a French coin I see that Besancon, France used the same exact mark as a mint mark on their coins so that might finally be my answer.

7) A soldier marked "British Volunteer."

8.) Ornate - Gold & silver plate.

 

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[gwdigger]

Not surprised you have some great cufflinks considering your other finds posts. Man those just scream awesome Colonial sites!

Digging through this stuff really makes me want to hunt.

 

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[CRUSADER]

This post made me want to go and see what i had. I think there are a few more but here is what I dug out quickly.

Very nice collection, as IP says, you must have great sites

I believe the one I have picked out below is the top of a 18th Century button (bottom half's I never find attached)

 

[Iron Patch]

Not surprised you have some great cufflinks considering your other finds posts. Man those just scream awesome Colonial sites!

Digging through this stuff really makes me want to hunt.

I hear ya!


Ever have a site you forgot about for years, then it suddenly just hit you one day? That just happened to me, and it's almost like a dream having been so many years ago and a place we spent so little time. I still haven't been able to nail down exactly where it is on my aerial photos, but once we're close I think it should come back. My diggin bud has no idea what place I'm talking about, and I don't even remember what we found there. All I know was it was fairly old, was a fair amount of iron and pottery, and we did dig some coins. I believe we hunted it twice and the 2nd time didn't give up too many targets and that was it. Now many years later it's probably been plowed a ton and ready to give up a few finds. When ideas like that pop in my mind I always think there's a reason, and we're meant to go back there. This is an area we know our competition hunted, and probably why we kinda backed off, but in the last few years we've realized we gave those guys way too much credit! While looking for this little lost site, I've also descoved a few older house sites that we were close to, but didn't go quite far enough. I'm looking forward to get back to this area and see if this sudden thought came for a reason, a good reason, one made of silver, or covered in gilt.

 

[Kirk PA]

Awesome cufflinks, gwdigger! Wow, you have hit so awesome sites.

Kirk

 

[gwdigger]

This post made me want to go and see what i had. I think there are a few more but here is what I dug out quickly.

Very nice collection, as IP says, you must have great sites

I believe the one I have picked out below is the top of a 18th Century button (bottom half's I never find attached)

It could be. Its very small and looks like a cuff link button but the shank is indeed missing.

 

[artyfacts]

Still looking for the other half. But the neatest I have found. There is what appears to be a sword on the right hand side worn almost smooth at the hilt. Still waiting for response over the big puddle. Not a jeweler but looks to be hand tooled.

 

[Iron Patch]

Still looking for the other half. But the neatest I have found. There is what appears to be a sword on the right hand side worn almost smooth at the hilt. Still waiting for response over the big puddle. Not a jeweler but looks to be hand tooled.

Masonic cufflink.

 

[gwdigger]

Still looking for the other half. But the neatest I have found. There is what appears to be a sword on the right hand side worn almost smooth at the hilt. Still waiting for response over the big puddle. Not a jeweler but looks to be hand tooled.

I really like this one.

 

[CRUSADER]

Still looking for the other half. But the neatest I have found. There is what appears to be a sword on the right hand side worn almost smooth at the hilt. Still waiting for response over the big puddle. Not a jeweler but looks to be hand tooled.

Its nice, but what response are you hoping for? Its a hand crafted commissioned piece for an 18th century mason. You might get more details on the symbols from a mason but anything else is a guess

 

[artyfacts]

Yes it is nice, and one of my favorite historical finds. After numerous emails to and from Mark Tabbert, the curator for the George Washington Masonic Memorial Museum and also numerous emails and exchanges from professors and other museum curators from across the big puddle, this little cuff button has raised many questions. The questions being, is it possibly the oldest Masonic relic in the USA or New Jersey? Who had these cuff buttons commissioned? Who made these cuff buttons and where? Why in New Jersey? These where not my questions to begin with, but I'm going for the ride anyways. My original question was, what is the meaning and placement of the symbols, are they random? I was told that Free Masonry and museum curators move like pond water. As far as what am I hoping for? There answers. I have had details given to me from masons about some of the symbols but, most of the masons from the late 17th to early 18th century are dead or are movie stars, very hard for modern masons and movie stars to know what these symbols and there order might symbolize today. I realize that almost all knowledge is read and that there are no crystal balls, and that some of the read knowledge was most likely someones guess. If its going to be a guess, I would rather that the best guessers, are guessing. Arty

 

[Iron Patch]

Yes it is nice, and one of my favorite historical finds. After numerous emails to and from Mark Tabbert, the curator for the George Washington Masonic Memorial Museum and also numerous emails and exchanges from professors and other museum curators from across the big puddle, this little cuff button has raised many questions. The questions being, is it possibly the oldest Masonic relic in the USA or New Jersey? Who had these cuff buttons commissioned? Who made these cuff buttons and where? Why in New Jersey? These where not my questions to begin with, but I'm going for the ride anyways. My original question was, what is the meaning and placement of the symbols, are they random? I was told that Free Masonry and museum curators move like pond water. As far as what am I hoping for? There answers. I have had details given to me from masons about some of the symbols but, most of the masons from the late 17th to early 18th century are dead or are movie stars, very hard for modern masons and movie stars to know what these symbols and there order might symbolize today. I realize that almost all knowledge is read and that there are no crystal balls, and that some of the read knowledge was most likely someones guess. If its going to be a guess, I would rather that the best guessers, are guessing. Arty

Not that this helps you in anyway but I thought you'd be interested to see the ring I dug a few years ago. I know who owned it, he was born in 1735, died in 1809 or 10, and was from New York city before he settled here.

 

[artyfacts]

Thanks IP, great thread and a very neat ring, and know who owned it to boot, wow that is a great find. Have you investigated the symbols? I know I just about fell over when I dug the cuff button seeing the masonic symbols on it. If there are any answers to any of the questions posed I will let you know. Its not every day you get to dig something from that close to the beginning. Your success is well documented and most appreciated. Someones doing there homework. I see earlier in this post you remembered an old sight you use to hit. I will be visiting my old stomping grounds this fall less then an hour away from you, where I grew up. I remembered finding a man made cave, my brother and I called it the hermits cave. We even camped outside of the opening, everyone was to chicken to sleep inside it. It went back about fifty feet all rocks in an arch over six feet high with dirt piled over it in the middle of nowhere. It had a tree growing on top of it that was around three foot wide. That was in 1965. Have you found anything like this in your wanderings any ideas? Arty

 

[gwdigger]

Yes it is nice, and one of my favorite historical finds. After numerous emails to and from Mark Tabbert, the curator for the George Washington Masonic Memorial Museum and also numerous emails and exchanges from professors and other museum curators from across the big puddle, this little cuff button has raised many questions. The questions being, is it possibly the oldest Masonic relic in the USA or New Jersey? Who had these cuff buttons commissioned? Who made these cuff buttons and where? Why in New Jersey? These where not my questions to begin with, but I'm going for the ride anyways. My original question was, what is the meaning and placement of the symbols, are they random? I was told that Free Masonry and museum curators move like pond water. As far as what am I hoping for? There answers. I have had details given to me from masons about some of the symbols but, most of the masons from the late 17th to early 18th century are dead or are movie stars, very hard for modern masons and movie stars to know what these symbols and there order might symbolize today. I realize that almost all knowledge is read and that there are no crystal balls, and that some of the read knowledge was most likely someones guess. If its going to be a guess, I would rather that the best guessers, are guessing. Arty

Not that this helps you in anyway but I thought you'd be interested to see the ring I dug a few years ago. I know who owned it, he was born in 1735, died in 1809 or 10, and was from New York city before he settled here.

That is bad a$$ too. I really like this kind find.

 

[Iron Patch]

Thanks IP, great thread and a very neat ring, and know who owned it to boot, wow that is a great find. Have you investigated the symbols? I know I just about fell over when I dug the cuff button seeing the masonic symbols on it. If there are any answers to any of the questions posed I will let you know. Its not every day you get to dig something from that close to the beginning. Your success is well documented and most appreciated. Someones doing there homework. I see earlier in this post you remembered an old sight you use to hit. I will be visiting my old stomping grounds this fall less then an hour away from you, where I grew up. I remembered finding a man made cave, my brother and I called it the hermits cave. We even camped outside of the opening, everyone was to chicken to sleep inside it. It went back about fifty feet all rocks in an arch over six feet high with dirt piled over it in the middle of nowhere. It had a tree growing on top of it that was around three foot wide. That was in 1965. Have you found anything like this in your wanderings any ideas? Arty

Since I know who owned the ring and a bit about him, the symbols don't matter too much because my main interest will be researching the person. That said, maybe the symbols can help date it because as I said he was born in 1735, so even when in his 20s it is still only mid. 18th century. One more thing that makes it very cool is that on Nov 4, 1776 in the New York Gazette he was among one of the signers to a declaration of allegiance to George III. Having been a Loyalist is what sent him North to settle just a few fields away from where I was living when I started detecting. This is one of my finds that I like more and more as time goes on.

 

[artyfacts]

A great piece of history to say the least and a providence that goes with it. Thanks for posting the ring. Outstanding find IP.

 

[Woodland Detectors]

Here's a set that is way cool I just dug

 

[Steve in PA]

Here is my contribution to the cufflink thread.

 

[joeyfresh]

Any help with an ID on these?

 

[A2coins]

Sweet finds !!!! Great post​

 

[cerebus]

Remember these?