Four items to ID

[gary s fl]

Dug all the items except the round thing with the mini spikes which I believe was handed down from my grandfather. Surprisingly the spikes don't seem to be iron (tested with a strong earth magnet), and there isn‘t any surface rust. The metal forming the base is fairly soft and may be lead. It appears that more lead was puddled on afterwards. Weighs a little over 11 oz.. 3" dia, 1" tall. Would this have been used for working raw cotton or other types of fibers? Would the puddled lead have been used to secure the disc to a larger base?

The decorative bow looking item is copper or brass and was made of two pieces, a solid back and partially opened front. The pieces were joined together with four corner tabs. There are two holes at the top (?) of the back piece and to the right of a stamped ‘Patented May 8, 19??’. There are 6 holes across the bottom. Could this have been a type of scented pendant that women wore during the Victorian era?

Could the third item have been the lid of a can that held a band instrument part or mouth piece, or something similar? A while back I dug a large button in a park that had the same type of harp design. Made of light gauge aluminum.

I was curious if anyone recognized the markings of this lead seal. Were there standard marks for lead seals that designated what the contents of a bag were? Has there ever been a lead seal ID book published?

 

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[IronSpike]

The 1st item is a pin flower frog. Used for flower arrangements.

 

[gary s fl]

Thanks Ironspike.

 

[Bigcypresshunter]

Too bad you cant get that patent date.

There is a lead seal database but I think its mostly British or European.

http://ourpasthistory.com/Gallery/bagseals/SAVE0129

http://ourpasthistory.com/Gallery/bagseals?page=1

http://www.colchestertreasurehunting.co.uk/baleseals.htm

 

[ipsilateral]

Item 1 is called a spiked floral frog. Oh, that's already been solved... The aluminum lyre item reminds me of the old condom containers (like merry widows).

 

[gary s fl]

BCH thanks for the links. Some of those seals across the pond were works of art. Ipsi, I agree, it could be off a condom container. If so, it probably dates later than the four Merry Widow tins I've found since moving to AL. Not much has changed in 75 years except the packaging.

 

[Coin Stalker]

wow didnt know they had condoms back then..lol

 

[Bigcypresshunter]

wow didnt know they had condoms back then..lol

The earliest condoms found date back to the English Civil War in the 1600's made from intestines.. The oldest known condom appears in a 3,000-year-old Egyptian illustration. I would imagine the ancient Romans used them. http://newsvote.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/3250785.stm?markResults=true&x=21&y=20

 

[creskol]

The brass or copper oval piece reminds me of a rectangular whatsit posted earlier by Dand. Look at the similarities in the metal as well as the details on the back. Interesting!

http://forum.treasurenet.com/index.php/topic,372002.0.html

 

[gary s fl]

Creskol good recall! Lots of similarities. I have my doubts about either one being an ID bag tag, especially mine. Hopefully someone will recognize it. BCH, thanks for the education on ancient condoms. That's something we can definitely share with our wifes.

 

[NOLA_Ken]

The last one looks like a lead seal, does it have holes through it on the side or rusted off bits of wire through it?

 

[gary s fl]

It has holes the dia. of a tooth pick which I used to clean the dirt out. What do you have in mind?

 

[Bigcypresshunter]

It has holes the dia. of a tooth pick which I used to clean the dirt out. What do you have in mind?

I think he means the wire has rusted out.

 

[gary s fl]

The holes surprised me. I just assumed it had rusted wires inside like all the other ones. This one doesn't have rust stains around the holes that I can see. Perhaps the seal was pulled off the wires when the bag was opened. Nice seal diagrams.

 

[g-olden years]

If the metal lid with harp design isn't part of a condom can, it may be part of a small fairly flat round can used to hold the waxy "grease" which is periodically rubbed into the thin cork layers at each section joint of ebony wood clarinets. What a mouthful of words, sorry! Andi

 

[NOLA_Ken]

The seal could also have had string through it that rotted away. As I remember they started out as a blank lead disk and were sealed by a press tool that would also emboss the lettering on them. we used to find them in Illinois along areas where the old riverboats docked, and near warehouses.