✅ SOLVED Never seen one like this...Round BUCKLE..got me puzzled..??

[TheRealSuperDave]

Can anyone give me any insight or info about this buckle. I haven't been able to find any info on it or anything like it. i dug it in the Texas Hill Country near a HUGE very old oak tree. I am guessing late 1800's due to the fact that I found a Liberty Head "V" nickel dated 1890 under the same tree, along with literally 100's of other artifacts. In fact I have made dozens of visits to the same tree for hours each time and have yet to run out of targets. In my opinion it looks like a piece of round horse tack that the pin or shaft was "smith-ed" or added on. Maybe someone whose pants were falling down and needed a belt and buckle?..Any insight would be very much appreciated. Thanks!

 

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[Silver Searcher]

Linch Pin, not a buckle.

SS

 

[BosnMate]

Linch Pin, not a buckle.

SS

I'm not going to say it's raining, and I'm not disagreeing with you completely. It might very well be a home made lynch pin. In my experience lynch pins are made so they will snap shut/closed and stay put.
So that's not to say what we have here isn't a home made, make do lynch pin. However, there are round buckles on western saddle cinches, usually a little larger than the one pictured. It might have been used as a lynch pin, but it doesn't seem to me it would be a very good one. Here's a picture of a cinch buckle, and being found in Texas, my money is on cinch buckle.

 

[TheRealSuperDave]

If it is a linch pin; how exactly did/does it work? I Thought that with a linch pin the "ring" was attached to the pin in two separate places, or "offset" which gave it a kind of spring like action to keep it closed..The "pin" part of this moves freely with no resistance completely around the ring and swings freely....It would only work if it was inserted in a vertical straight up and down, top to bottom fashion......Well I guess that makes sense...there you have it...No wonder it was lost!!.THANKS for the insight SS!...

 

[TheRealSuperDave]

Those were exactly my thoughths exactly BosnMate...but it could be used as a type of "linch Pin" but ONLY in a vertical fashion....RIGHT...Is there anyway to tag a date on it or is the late 1800's pretty much it. It was definitely one of the deeper targets I have dug, right about 9"-10"..