✅ SOLVED What kind of buckle is this? How old is it?

[NJKLAGT]

Hi Everyone,

I swung over this nice complete buckle yesterday. This house site dates to the 1850s. I'm wondering what type of buckle this is and about how old it is.

The whole thing is around two inches long. The prongs move, the pin is set in two holes. The reserve side is the same but debossed, hollow.

I'm more of a bottle digger so these things aren't quite familiar to me yet. Thanks for your help!


NJ

 

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[vpnavy]

While you are waiting - I pulled these from other TN threads...

Buckles Through The Ages by Chris Marshall
NOTE: Most of the pictures referenced on TN are found within Chris Marshall's WebSite



Old Buckle, Flat Buttons, and Civil War Bullets - Good Weekend (Aug 10, 2015)



Unknown find from 18th Century Homestead (Jun 08, 2008)



Buckle?.. (Sep 25, 2010)



CELLAR HOLE*SILVER COLONIAL KNEE BUCKLE*KG COPPER (Sep 28, 2011)
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[NJKLAGT]

Thanks vpnavy, I don't think mine is quite as old as these but this has taught me something nonetheless!

 

[nhbenz]

Maybe I'm wrong, but it looks like a suspenders buckle to me. Many in the past have had patent dates on them, which have mostly been in the 1870's-80's. But, this is a bit different than many of those, so maybe earlier?

 

[NJKLAGT]

Thank you for your reply, Ben! I feel like you'd want a suspender buckle to be flush and smooth on the side that touches you, so that you don't get any uncomfortable rubbing or anything, but I have no idea. I'm leaning toward a boot for some reason, or maybe even something that wasn't worn, like a wallet or purse - the buckle is essentially hollow, so maybe it might not stand up to the wear and tear that a worn buckle would? Then again, a lot of the older shoe buckles are surprisingly flimsy, and a shoe would probably take the most wear and tear. I'm not sure.

Someone's got to have seen something like this before!

 

[nhbenz]

If you scroll down in the thread below ther is one very similar to yours with a patent date of 1868, which doesn't prove it to be a suspenders part, but likely this patent date would apply to yours I believe.
oops, here: http://www.treasurenet.com/forums/what/251536-buckle-suspender-clips-button-looking-dates.html

 

[jewelerguy]

don't know anything about it, but it's pretty cool

 

[NJKLAGT]

That does look very similar! Hopefully 1870s would be a safe guess then. And I have been looking at some of the older suspender buckles and a lot of them do have a hook and ring like this one, so thank you for pointing me in the right direction, I'm really starting to like your theory.

Thanks again for your help!

 

[P.ALLEN]

Horse tack?