Help ID and date a buckle for me!

[SCDigginWithAK]

Hey guys what kind of buckle and how old is this buckle? I dug it at an old home site and a jail is known to have been there. I'm thinking it's late 1700s or 1800s and was either a belt buckle or saddle buckle. It's made of iron and it is 3 inches long and 2 inches wide. The middle raises up a little. Thanks!

 

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[grasshopper]

I find many of these. I think they're horse-related, like a harness buckle. Not sure on the age, my guess is that they were used for a while. It's probably 1800s rather than 1700s...

 

[BosnMate]

Yeah, it's no doubt a harness buckle. Here's a picture, note all the buckles on the adjustment straps. Big ones and small ones.

 

[SCDigginWithAK]

Thank y'all!

 

[TheCannonballGuy]

Here's some rule-of-thumb guidance for you to use in the future about identifying tongue-on-bar, square or rectangular, "frame" buckles. By the way, rule-of-thumb means "generally true BUT there are always some exceptions to that rule."

1- Pants waistbelt buckles were/are almost never made of iron.
2- When the crossbar is "backset" (like on your buckle), it was made that way to accomodate two THICK straps, which "generally" indicates it is a type of harness-buckle. But as mentioned above, there are some exceptions, such as knapsack-strap buckles, and cavalry carbine "thimble" strap buckles, etc.
3- IRON buckles made to accomodate a strap which is more than 1-inch wide tend to be horsegear buckles. I should mention, the term "horsegear" encompasses not just horse-harnesses, but also things like saddlebags and plow-harnesses.

 

[Thommy]

Here's some rule-of-thumb guidance for you to use in the future about identifying tongue-on-bar, square or rectangular, "frame" buckles. By the way, rule-of-thumb means "generally true BUT there are always some exceptions to that rule."

1- Pants waistbelt buckles were/are almost never made of iron.
2- When the crossbar is "backset" (like on your buckle), it was made that way to accomodate two THICK straps, which "generally" indicates it is a type of harness-buckle. But as mentioned above, there are some exceptions, such as knapsack-strap buckles, and cavalry carbine "thimble" strap buckles, etc.
3- IRON buckles made to accomodate a strap which is more than 1-inch wide tend to be horsegear buckles. I should mention, the term "horsegear" encompasses not just horse-harnesses, but also things like saddlebags and plow-harnesses.

As always, TheCannonball Guy provides the most accurate, concise info. Thanks again for your help.

 

[SCDigginWithAK]

Thank y'all very much! And CannonballGuy those are some great guides. Thanks for y'all's help