Mystery chess piece maybe?

[Treyster96]

Found this item in an old gravel lot where an old town house used to be. It was buried about 7 inches down, and the detector reads it at 84. Located it with my Garret 400. It’s approximately 1” in height, and about a half in width. It has a flat bottom and stands like a piece to a board game. It is slightly magnetic.

 

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[Slingshot]

Scale weight?

 

[namxat]

Seal matrix or something alike?


Greets

Namxat

 

[ANTIQUARIAN]

Welcome to Tnet from Toronto Trey.

Are there any marks on the bottom?
What does the opposite side look like?
What part of the country did you find this in?
Is there a mold seam?

 

[DizzyDigger]

Here's a better image of it:

 

[Treyster96]

There is a mold seam. Opposite side looks the exact same thing. Found in Oregon, USA

 

[Treyster96]

Thanks for the better picture DizzyDigger.

 

[DizzyDigger]

No worries Trey..the idea is to get this critter ID'd..

Here's the backside pic:



Don't think it's a board game piece..maybe some type of key?

 

[Breezie]

Welcome to the Forum,
I'm wondering if it is an antique Wax Seal? You said the bottom is flat . . .does it look like it could have had another piece on the bottom? Check the edges to see if there was any type of attachment. I'd like to see a close-up photo of the bottom.

Neat find
Breezie

 

[Treyster96]

 

[DizzyDigger]

Trey, huge difference in the file size..

Don't see any markings there that would make me think it
was a stamp:



Don't give up on us Trey...bunch of the folks here are like
bloodhounds once they get started. Little older and slower
perhaps, but sooner or later one of 'em is going to pop up
and know exactly that that critter is.

 

[Treyster96]

What file size should I set it too?

 

[DizzyDigger]

What file size should I set it too?

What are the options?

 

[Treyster96]

473x1024
295x640
147x320

 

[Wildcat1750]

Very interesting find! I'll be checking back for an update for sure...

 

[teleprospector]

Yours resembles a neolithic stone figurine with a sharp carved base compared to the pic below.
Hope this helps!
Jon

 

[ANTIQUARIAN]

Welcome to the Forum,
I'm wondering if it is an antique Wax Seal? You said the bottom is flat . . .does it look like it could have had another piece on the bottom? Check the edges to see if there was any type of attachment. I'd like to see a close-up photo of the bottom.

Neat find
Breezie

I apologize for taking so long to get back to you on this Trey, I've been working in Alberta all week.

Breezie took the words right out of my mouth... wax letter seal. There was likely a cartouche of some kind affixed/glued to the bottom.
The metal looks to be spelter or pot metal, which would make it non-magnetic.

"Pot metal is an alloy of low-melting point metals that manufacturers use to make fast, inexpensive castings. The term "pot metal" came about due to the practice at automobile factories in the early 20th century of gathering up non-ferrous metal scraps from the manufacturing processes and melting them in one pot to form into cast products. A small amount of iron usually made it into the castings, but too much iron raised the melting point, so it was minimized.

There is no metallurgical standard for pot metal. Common metals in pot metal include zinc, lead, copper, tin, magnesium, aluminum, iron, and cadmium. The primary advantage of pot metal is that it is quick and easy to cast. Because of its low melting temperature, it requires no sophisticated foundry equipment or specialized molds. In the late nineteenth century, pot metal referred specifically to a copper alloy that was primarily alloyed with lead. Mixtures of 67% copper with 29% lead and 4% antimony and another one of 80% copper with 20% lead were common formulations."

Date wise, I'm thinking late 19thc - early 20thc.
Dave

 

[Force_of_Iron]

I would say its just a bust paperweight. Bust as in figural, not that its all busted up,

 

[Treyster96]

Thank you!

 

[Davers]

Great post.