I have no idea

[Conito@55]

some of you know what this is.

 

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[AusTexDude]

That looks like it may be an old battery fill hole cap for flooded lead/acid batteries. There were probably 4 of them on a battery.

 

[E-Trac-Ohio]

An interesting find !

 

[Red-Coat]

Interesting find.

Boyd’s Battery was a small so-called therapeutical device in the territory of ‘snake oil’, invented by Professor J.C. Boyd of New York City. He claimed it had “a secret method of amalgamating the metals used, which is the great reason of the powerful action of the battery upon the body, and this secret is known only to Prof. Boyd and some of his staff.”

The device was claimed to have been patented on 17 January 1878, but the U.S. Patent Office did not issue any patents on that date. It was a Thursday and the Patents bulletin has traditionally been published on Tuesdays.

It had 12 peripheral discs made of different metals, including copper, brass and white metal, surrounding a central copper rosette and was supposed to be worn around the neck, preferably over the heart. It was claimed to cure various diseases by radiating galvanic electricity throughout the body. Pure quackery.

 

[Almy]

Neat find. I would have had no idea what it was. Thanks, RC.

 

[Red-Coat]

A little more...

Although the battery was advertised as having been invented by Professor J.C. Boyd and carried his name, in New York Supreme Court proceedings, Boyd testified that he didn’t know who invented it. He claimed the Galvanic battery business had been purchased and operated by Ellis H. Elias on his behalf. Richard H. Elias testified that Ellis H. Elias had been in business with George Sagendorph previously, that the business belonged to Ellis H. Elias, and he had simply continued selling Sagendorph's Battery under Boyd's name. None of that corresponds to later advertorial claims by Boyd that Sagendorph had stolen his invention.

 

[Conito@55]

A little more...

Although the battery was advertised as having been invented by Professor J.C. Boyd and carried his name, in New York Supreme Court proceedings, Boyd testified that he didn’t know who invented it. He claimed the Galvanic battery business had been purchased and operated by Ellis H. Elias on his behalf. Richard H. Elias testified that Ellis H. Elias had been in business with George Sagendorph previously, that the business belonged to Ellis H. Elias, and he had simply continued selling Sagendorph's Battery under Boyd's name. None of that corresponds to later advertorial claims by Boyd that Sagendorph had stolen his invention.

View attachment 2187581

Thank you very much, my friend. You are the best.

 

[Conito@55]

That looks like it may be an old battery fill hole cap for flooded lead/acid batteries. There were probably 4 of them on a battery.

Thanks

 

[Trezurehunter]

Neat little find.

 

[Nathan W]

That's pretty cool, unusual. That's what makes finding items so thrilling

 

[Conito@55]

That's pretty cool, unusual. That's what makes finding items so thrilling

Yes it is

 

[Older The Better]

Excellent Id

 

[jewelerguy]

Cool find. Thanks to Red Coat for the info.

 

[oldmxrat]

Well, that's not something you see every day, very cool!

 

[Conito@55]

Well, that's not something you see every day, very cool!

yes it is. 👍

 

[Hunk-a-lead]

A little more...

Although the battery was advertised as having been invented by Professor J.C. Boyd and carried his name, in New York Supreme Court proceedings, Boyd testified that he didn’t know who invented it. He claimed the Galvanic battery business had been purchased and operated by Ellis H. Elias on his behalf. Richard H. Elias testified that Ellis H. Elias had been in business with George Sagendorph previously, that the business belonged to Ellis H. Elias, and he had simply continued selling Sagendorph's Battery under Boyd's name. None of that corresponds to later advertorial claims by Boyd that Sagendorph had stolen his invention.

View attachment 2187581

great ID Red Coat, fascinating, thanks

 

[Hunk-a-lead]

some of you know what this is.
View attachment 2187546

quite an interesting find and back story, well done and lots of fun

 

[tamrock]

Quick sales and enormous profits. I had a Chinese manufacturers rep make a similar pitch to me about some rockdrill bits they were trying to introduce to the US market. He said the Chinese make no money, you make a lot a money. We did order up 1500 of them and did make a good margin. Then when we thought about getting more, this rep said, can't make the same deal as time before on price, unless you order maybe 5000 pieces. I told him boy you're slick and he said what that mean, is that good.