✅ SOLVED This is a wierd one

[kenstein]

I dug this last Sunday at the old home site that has produced a 1907 cent, 1890s shotgun headstamps, etc. Pretty confident that it's been there +-100 years. I cannot imagine what it is. I can tell that it would have been worn on clothing or possibly a hat, because the catch for a pin is still on the back. The rectangular box(?) on the front doesn't look like it belongs, and although at first glance it looks a tangled mess, it really isn't bent much and everything you see is soldered in place and doesn't open. My only guess is maybe a pillbox with the front half of the box missing, possibly a flower to match the other flowers. It looks like brass. Crumby pictures, I know. It's cloudy here. I'll try to get better pics if needed. Anybody have any ideas?

 

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[villagenut]

It looks like an art nouveau brooch that once held a stone as a centerpiece similar to this one.

 

[Ihatepoisonivy]

You might just find a jewel in the hole that came out of.

 

[Ant]

Half of a buckle.

 

[kenstein]

Thank you, Villagenut. Your picture is the closest I've seen, and that explains the weird box. And, IHPI, thanks for that suggestion; I hadn't thought that far ahead yet. I guess I have some sifting to do after the ground dries a bit. It's a muddy mess right now. I'll update if I find it.

 

[kenstein]

Half of a buckle.

Thanks, Ant. My first impression when I dug this was some kind of belt buckle. The size and shape were right, but the box on front and the pin on back didn't make sense.

 

[villagenut]

I noticed as well that the patina/ tarnish over the entire piece is darker than where the stone sat. This could be due to it being there for some time after it was lost to the ground elements. So it may be there somewhere as IHPI pointed out. Not a precious stone, probably just a colored glass stone but it would be good to reunite them.

 

[Butter Hat]

Yup, a brooch...the 'pin' is gone. Those things fall off now and then, even on modern jewelry. The pins are small and fragile and easily separated from the body of the brooch.

 

[kenstein]

I WILL be checking to see if the stone can be found, that would be cool. Who knows, I may have loosened it myself while digging and not recognized it.