Jesse James Artifact Found in SE Oklahoma. I need all the information I can get.

[Sides]

UPDATE

Please. As much info as possible. The metal scratches bright silver. Possibly Lead. It is heavy for its size as well. Dimensions below.

4in x 2 3/8in

1in wide varying slightly

100mm x 60mm

width slants from 22mm to 27mm

 

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[Gene Mean]

Maybe Frank was 18 years old and Jessie was 12?

I like that, I'm just afraid to hit the like button.

 

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[jeff of pa]

My Personal Guess Because Both Frank & Jesse's names are on It, it is Meant to Be the Outlaw Jesse But Misspelled.

Which Doesn't prove anything Unfortunately, Because Even Old Timers Couldn't Necessarily Spell Jesse Correct.
If they Never Looked Close at his Name & Thought about it.

Same as Today

Although I see no reason why anyone would have wanted a Lead Ingot With Both their Names
other then as a Souvenir from a Western Souvenir Shop.

Looks like 30000 on it, So possibly was originally Gold Plated ?

I Don't think an attempt at Counterfeiting , Too Lame imo.

Sorry if I'm repeating something above. I'm just Now Posting Before reading all

 

[jeff of pa]

Maybe Frank was 18 years old and Jessie was 12?

Lol Would be the Only way.

imo too Gay for 2 Outlaws, Even Brothers to have something made with both their Names on it.

 

[jeff of pa]

Could you imagine Frank & Jesse walking into a Jeweler & Picking out a Memorial Piece
to Commemorate their Brotherhood ? or even walking into a Black Smith to buy an Item,
And say, "OH yea ! We want our names Together on it"

I Don't even think a Birthday Card to their Mother would have said from Frank & Jesse

 

[Red-Coat]

Maybe 'souvenir' isn't quite the right word, but there's a lot in human nature that compels people to want something to show and tell that places them or a family member as having witnessed something exciting, even if they didn't really. A kind of "... and you know grandpa was right there in the street when the James gang hit that bank... bullets everywhere... missed him by a whisker... and he collected up the slugs afterwards and had this ingot made from them... ain't that some story, kids?"

I've seen/heard a lot of things along the lines of "grandpa used to work in the Belfast shipyards you know, and he kept this chunk of metal cut off Titanic's propeller when they were finishing it off... see, it's got 'Titanic' engraved on it" or "grandpa would've been a goner if this pocket-watch/bible/whiskey-flask/ hadn't stopped that German sniper bullet when he was in the trenches... he had the date it happened engraved right there on the back".

Pure speculation, but we don't have that much to go on really.

 

[ARC]

I agree.
I would x-ray, if I could, just to see.

IF lead an Xray would be of no use.

 

[smallfoot]

Some have mentioned getting it X-rayed. If the object is lead, would X-ray do any good?

 

[ARC]

I really hate it when my "E's" slide over making an "I"...

Throws spell correct off every time.

 

[IMAUDIGGER]

Could you imagine Frank & Jesse walking into a Jeweler & Picking out a Memorial Piece
to Commemorate their Brotherhood ? or even walking into a Black Smith to buy an Item,
And say, "OH yea ! We want our names Together on it"

I Don't even think a Birthday Card to their Mother would have said from Frank & Jesse

I meant husband Frank and wife Jessie.
Definitely didn’t come from a jeweler.

I don’t see “30000”. I see a pair of boobs and 4 circles.

 

[MetalArchSC]

How bout a door stop?

 

[jeff of pa]

I meant husband Frank and wife Jessie.
Definitely didn’t come from a jeweler.

No , I Knew what ya Meant
Although not Impossible, I'd say as likely as Frank & Jesse being Kissin' Cousins at the Campfire sorry

Seriously though. Too Coincidental for My personal Belief System, & would have a a Wedding Date (Month, Day,& Year }Or Something of.

But in all honesty, As good as My Guess

 

[IMAUDIGGER]

The weird thing is that it would have been super easy to clean it up with a blade and a file.
Beings that they took the time with the copper wire. Why leave it so crude looking?

Quite a bit of effort was taken to create the the positive embossing, then leave it cast crudely.
Very odd.

 

[IMAUDIGGER]

Here’s how it would read if it were turned over to match the writing on the other side (decorative side up).

 

[TooManyHobbies]

I doubt anyone was collecting spent lead bullets, never mind enough to make an ingot that big.

 

[Obsessive]

Maybe it was meant to be a gift, but upset by the misspelling of his name, Jesse shot the gifter and threw the item in the bushes.

Know any veterinarian or chiropractors? They usually have x-ray machines. Debating the lead issue, but unless your certain might as well try!

 

[ARC]

I doubt anyone was collecting spent lead bullets, never mind enough to make an ingot that big.

Yeah they would have to be some sort of treasure hunter or history buff... or even a metal detectorist to "collect bullets"...

:P

 

[cudamark]

Fascinating item!

Judging from its appearance I don't think it's pure lead, but rather made from some sort of "white metal", "pot metal", or Babbitt bearing metal alloy. The spalled-out corroded divots in the surface make me think it's a harder alloy, maybe containing Zinc, as pure lead doesn't usually spall like that.

I can't think of any practical purpose for such an item aside from being used as a doorstop wedge. If made with a harder alloy or molten hodgepodge and used on an old-school pine or bare floor (softer surfaces) I could imagine the embossing holding up to the abuse much better than pure lead embossed doorstops would.

That was my thought too. A house warming or wedding gift from a poor friend or family member to a husband Frank and wife Jessie James. Used as a door stop or paperweight. I doubt there is any connection to the infamous outlaws. Hope I'm wrong though!

 

[Red-Coat]

Yeah they would have to be some sort of treasure hunter or history buff... or even a metal detectorist to "collect bullets"...

:P

Yes indeed, but sometimes the nature of 'family heirlooms' (probably a better term than 'souvenir') with a claimed heritage isn't at all as handed down. What the item was believed or claimed to have been made from (eg recovered bullets) might not be what it is actually made from (eg roofing lead). Seen this kind of misrepresentation before in things like ashtrays claimed to have been made from melted down zeppelin superstructure... it crashed right in grandpa's garden, you know.

 

[Doubter in MD]

I agree with what others have already said. This thread should be moved to the "What is it?" forum.

 

[DocBeav]

Maybe just a crude but ornate direction marker. You said you know its original location and orientation. I'd be looking at where it may "point" to!