Eagle seal wax stamp of some sort?

[dgoodyear]

I found this yesterday in the middle of a farm field which is pretty interesting. It looks like some sort of wax seal stamper because everything is reversed and recessed. It's a few inches across (sorry don't have exact measurements as I'm working from the pics on my phone next to some other things I found but there is an ihp in the pic for size reference). It's also about 3/4" thick and solid so it has some weight to it. What's really cool about it is that it has an eagle with a shield in the middle holding the branches and arrows and the ribbon. It's been partially hit by a plow but you can read the writing. Around the top it says Consulate U.S.A. and at the bottom it says "Realejo." I think its all one word and the last letter I'm pretty sure is an O though a plow nicked it. There are no other markings on it but I'll bet it looks cool pressed in wax (assuming that's what its for). The only things I can find are Realejo is a city in South America. The eagle design looks older and closer to 1800's though I honestly don't know. It's really cool either way.

 

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[Shiloh]

Don’t know what it is but it’s a nice find!

 

[randazzo1]

That’s awesome! Yeah def looks like 1800s eagle to me. Here’s a similar thing they’re calling an “embossing die” https://www.icollector.com/c-1800s-...OF-AMERICA-Great-Seal-Embossing-Die_i27757408

 

[randazzo1]

Probably did something like this I would think. Interestingly this one is from the 1800s us consulate in Switzerland. It looks similar to yours. The later (like 1900s seals) look totally different. What an exciting find you made!

 

[BLK HOLE]

Congrats, looks like the embosser for a seal.

 

[DCMatt]

Realejo, Nicaragua. The US Consulate was there through the second half of the 1800's as best I can tell. Then moved to near-by Corinto in 1897 because Corinto had become a larger and more important port city.

That's a very cool dig.

A digging buddy of mine dug a 19th C. embosser from a Frederick, MD fire company a few years ago. It is now in their museum collection at one of the stations in the city.

 

[Tpmetal]

that right there is a pretty special find. Great job

 

[A2coins]

Freakin cool thats gotta be worth some bucks right there Sweet find

 

[dgoodyear]

Thanks! this is really cool. Hopefully more can be tracked down about it. It could have been for paper too as one half of an embosser as someone mentioned. This side is all recessed which lead me to believe its related to embossing in wax but it could be possible that there's another half that matches this as a raised version that could have pressed the seal into paper.

 

[Bramblefind]

Wonderful find!! In the early 1850s John Bozman Kerr of Maryland was "U.S. Charge at Nicaragua" - maybe if you research the site you can find a connection to him or someone else that may have be associated.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Bozman_Kerr

This is from The Baltimore Sun 12/24/1851

 

[dgoodyear]

Thanks! I was also hoping to come across old documents possibly that might have the embossing on them online.. tough so far but I might get lucky too.

 

[Digger RJ]

Nice!!! Congrats!!!

 

[ToddsPoint]

Clean that thing up and give it a try. The eagle is really cool. Gary

 

[Underwonder]

This is an exciting find!

 

[dgoodyear]

Finally! Some more clues that help I think. I found a document on ebay for sale.. its U.S. Consulate Letter of Introduction to an Embassy in Montreal in 1854. One of the photos is of the seal on the document. This one is for a different city as it says Consulate U.S.A. Montreal on it, but its a dead on match for the seal. That lines up with the time periods mentioned for the Realejo office opening in the 1850's and the look of this seal.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/U-S-Consul...349536?hash=item569fde8ba0:g:xuYAAOSwRH9ZcohX

 

[dgoodyear]

To give a better idea of what it would look like actually used, here's a reversed pic of the die:

 

[Joe-Dirt]

WOW, very cool find!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[ctalmadg]

 

[Johnbrian]

Cool! That's an object that there are very few of!

 

[cw0909]

some info links on Bramblefind post, maybe searching some of the
names mention as consulate, you could find some documents with the seal

https://history.state.gov/countries/nicaragua
kerr
https://history.state.gov/departmenthistory/people/kerr-john-bozman
other
https://history.state.gov/departmenthistory/people/chiefsofmission/nicaragua

Wonderful find!! In the early 1850s John Bozman Kerr of Maryland was "U.S. Charge at Nicaragua" - maybe if you research the site you can find a connection to him or someone else that may have be associated.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Bozman_Kerr

This is from The Baltimore Sun 12/24/1851