Palmetto button & a saddle badge

[cbxjon]

Two new lowcountry finds. I think the saddle badge is mid 1800's

 

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[Darby]

Super nice South Carolina button!!

 

[Old Dude]

That button is in super nice shape! Congrats on a spectacular find.

 

[Finman]

Great finds, Congrats!!!

 

[Ia.FurTrade]

Nice finds in nice condition!

 

[jewelerguy]

that button is sweet

 

[Garrett424]

Really cool finds. Nice shape too.
Congrats.

 

[kray]

Very nice find. Beats the hell outta most other finds!

 

[collector01]

Awesome button!

 

[treblehunter]

Nice finds!

 

[Higgy]

Both finds are great! Thanks for sharing!

 

[I-DIG-IT]

Nice digs.

 

[cbxjon]

Thanks ya'll, I got lucky again.

 

[detectahead]

A little olive oil on that button will make the details stand out even more! One killer button!

 

[TheCannonballGuy]

Cbxjon wrote, about his finds:
> Two new lowcountry finds. I think the saddle badge is mid 1800's.

Unlike your find, a saddle badge is just a decoration. Your find is called a saddle shield, which served as a reinforcement around a strap slot. Sometimes, but not always, it was marked to tell the saddle-seat's size... like yours says "12 IN[CH] SEAT."

Your brass saddle shield is from a US army McClellan saddle.
McClellan saddle - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
That version of Military saddle was designed by US army Capt. George B. McClellan, who became a famous general during the civil war. The first version of it was called the Model-1859. Subsequent versions were produced in the early-1900s, such as the Model-1904 and Model-1913, which were widely used in World War One. The final version of the McClellan saddle was the Model-1928.

I've mentioned the later models because they also had the same saddle shield on them that you found. See the photo of a Model-1904 McClellan saddle, below, showing the same shield marked with the seat's size, on the ridge at right in the photo. So, relic diggers & collectors need to know that tens-of-thousands were manufactured decades after the civil war. That being said, because you found yours near a civil war era South Carolina State Seal button, your McClellan saddle shield is almost certainly from the civil war.

 

[cbxjon]

Thanks for the good info Cannonballguy. I had found it a few weeks ago, had no idea what it was. I ran across a whole saddle at a yard sale a few days past. Otherwise I would still be guessing.

 

[jdsly]

Super nice Jon! Pretty dang cool saddle shield too. Good info from CBG. Im learning new stuff everyday on here. HH