CUFFLINKS Thread! Best, Oldest, Most Unique, or just found!

    Post your...  Complete cufflink or just a single side/ individual cufflink button.

    1) Found with a Rev War Officer button, the cufflinks were no doubt his.

    2) Solid silver, "B"  represents the surname from the site. (Beers)

    3) Tallyho - looking at this one again I'm pretty sure I can clean it better. 

    4)  Sailing Ships

    5) Very early hot air balloon.

    6) For years I've wondered about these 3 glass ones with the back to back letter C.  All were from different sites, both with French and British finds.  Just a few weeks ago looking up a French coin I see that Besancon, France used the same exact mark as a mint mark on their coins so that might finally be my answer.

    7) A soldier marked "British Volunteer."

    8.) Ornate - Gold & silver plate.
   

 This will be an interesting thread.     Thanks IP !



                                  VPR


Oh yah, no cuff links here "yet"

Patch they are what they are.But here is mine for 09' Have not been on for a few.   Are you getting bored already? It's going to be a long winter for you I see.   We just got blasted again today with another storm. Going to have to get around and see what's washed out huh? Want to do some woods stuff I've been waiting on hunting season to get over.At least rifle season been peppered with shot gun pellets before but don't think a rifle round would be that great.    Anyway here they are buddy.

Very very nice finds gentleman, and timekiller, after seeing your octagon shaped cufflinks I guess mine is just one side to a set like yours.. Do you agree?

  Yes, the shape, design, and type of shank, all says one side of an early cufflink.

IP, without a doubt some of yours are great, love the specially designed ones, hope many more post them, interesting to see the different styles but also to see how many of us have the same designed ones.   I will post later for sure.

Don

Only one for me thus far and not very old...late Victorian I think.

Still haven't found th other one yet.  I'll keep searching!

Found buried on a potato field in Devon.

Rear of cufflink

Here is a collage of most of the ones I have, think I m only missing a couple in this photo, definitely the one I found yesterday which is another flower design one.

Favorite one?  Hard to say, several there are..........    

Don

[FORT HALIFAX]

Some Awsome Cuff Links There.

Would Take Too long to Dig all mine Out
& Try & Get such Clear pics also
But My Favorite Pair are Plain
& were found in 2004
at the French & Indian War Fort
FORT HALIFAX

Yes Jeff, despite being plain, they are a great find since you can associate history with those cufflinks!

Don

My early cuff links are buried away with each site that I catalog (of importance) but I do have some to post that were in my misc. box. I also have about 20 that I have to clean yet from this year.
Sorry for the half-a$$ pictures.
Nice finds everyone!!!!
Thanks I.P. for the great thread.
Dave.

Great cufflinks, everyone. 

Jeff, those Fort Halifax ones are very special!  The history there makes it even better! 

Don, the one with the date of 1744 is Spanish-related, right?  I know Steve in PA has found them on his early sites.

Those are some damn fine cufflinks gentlemen! 

A couple more that were with these other type of cuff links? (picture 2) Do they count?
I won't plague this thread with anymore pictures until I dig out my early ones.
Dave.

You have a very impressive collection & I like your Fav as well with the Fox in close second.

Not found that many compared to buttons, still got a few tucked away from this year waiting to show the farmers.  Gave a couple of Silver ones away, but otherwise this is it.

Always a good day if you get a Silver one

PS.  not sure if this is one

Updated:

I remembered I had a Silver & Gold plated one which I found 15 odd years ago, just dug it out my scrap silver bag along with a couple of others, so they are now in there rightful place

I don't think I'll bother

I don't think I'll bother

yeah but you started with one of the best types to find   In a few years the XP will suck up a few more.

I don't think I'll bother

yeah but you started with one of the best types to find   In a few years the XP will suck up a few more.

I think I will add mine....in a minute

PS.  not sure if this is one

  Nice button matey.  Has a Scottish look about it. 

Oh man! what a great thread! All of you guys are amazing! Spectacular finds one and all! Wow!!  Really...Wow!  I'll have to dig mine out from various boxes, but they don't hold a candle to some of those you guys have posted.   Thanks for putting this up IronPatch!!! It is true inspiration!!!

Here's all mine

Still, I've had more luck with Cufflinks than Cartwheels

Pic is crap too.......oh well

wowsers, some nice cuff links and I see lots of collarstuds too!

I only have a couple of pics stored on the laptop I'm using, my pc has tons of pics but it's being fussy and difficult today, I'll throw more pics at this when it decides to behave

until then, silver with M or W, and gold collar stud

indianhead penny cufflink found on a local beach here in the uk.





found in a skip(dumpster) 18k gold cufflinks.

Here's one from a late 1700's site. Got a few more early ones that I will post as soon as I find them.
Dave.

I have only found two but here they are.

Here are a couple that I have pics of... The first one  "Talliho" is neat as the 2 others posted here as they are shown in the book History written with pick and shovel...my picture doesn't do it justice!

Going through my buttons this afternoon and found this gold plated cufflink that I didn't realize I had...found a couple years ago on an old French site.  Front is plain.

TallyHo must have been a pretty common cufflink...I see that IP, Don and Patriot each have one!  Weird.

TallyHo must have been a pretty common cufflink...I see that IP, Don and Patriot each have one!  Weird.

  Yes very common, and there's many buttons too.

I don't have any cuff links to post yet, but there is still a week left before the end of the year!

What a great post!

   great post IP    great finds   and so many varietys

   I didn't hit the 1700's yet   i've found quite a few though  

   My oldest is a dove over an urn  both are symbols of mourning  early to mid 1800's
   I think CRUSADER has 2 of them posted already ?
        
        

   And my best (favorite) is this one found in an 1880 - 1914 church picnic grove
        
        

            

   great post IP     great finds   and so many varietys

   I didn't hit the 1700's yet   i've found quite a few though 

   My oldest is a dove over a goblet  both are symbols of mourning  early to mid 1800's
   I think CRUSADER has 2 of them posted already ?
       
        [ ERROR: SPECIFIED ATTACHMENT MISSING ]

   And my best (favorite) is this one found in an 1880 - 1914 church picnic grove
        [ ERROR: SPECIFIED ATTACHMENT MISSING ]
        [ ERROR: SPECIFIED ATTACHMENT MISSING ]

           

  Very cool, but think it's an urn not goblet, at least the ones that represent mourning.   A dove was a sign of peace so it is always possible one could be over a goblet.

   great post IP     great finds   and so many varietys

   I didn't hit the 1700's yet   i've found quite a few though 

   My oldest is a dove over a goblet  both are symbols of mourning  early to mid 1800's
   I think CRUSADER has 2 of them posted already ?
        [ ERROR: SPECIFIED ATTACHMENT MISSING ]
        [ ERROR: SPECIFIED ATTACHMENT MISSING ]

   And my best (favorite) is this one found in an 1880 - 1914 church picnic grove
        [ ERROR: SPECIFIED ATTACHMENT MISSING ]
        [ ERROR: SPECIFIED ATTACHMENT MISSING ]

           

  Very cool, but think it's an urn not goblet, at least the ones that represent mourning.   A dove was a sign of peace so it is always possible one could be over a goblet.

   I messed that one up   Thanks for correcting me IP   I fixed it now
I was rewriting a reply from Mark Parker i received yrs. ago    eyes and age i guess

Nice old cufflinks. I dont have anything nearly so nice or as old but I did find a horseless carriage recently.

Iron Patch, yours and everybody else's are to neat. Here is the only pair i have ever found.

Iron Patch, yours and everybody else's are to neat. Here is the only pair i have ever found.

   If you're only going to find one engraved silver is a good choice! 

Might as well at mine to the lot 
...and if anyone can educate me as to the age of some of these  ( though I think most are early 20th or late 19th)

congrats

  A thought...


  Watching the Antique Roadshow last night there was a couple of early paintings with the female subjects both wearing earrings.  They were not Native, so I would assume earrings were a normal Colonial era item.  Now here's the thing, in all the buttons, cufflinks, and all other trinkets I've dug I didn't recognize anything as an early earring.  I wonder if we're finding them and assuming they are something else?  Anyone have some Colonial earrings to show me that are either European or early American?   

  A thought...


  Watching the Antique Roadshow last night there was a couple of early paintings with the female subjects both wearing earrings.  They were not Native, so I would assume earrings were a normal Colonial era item.  Now here's the thing, in all the buttons, cufflinks, and all other trinkets I've dug I didn't recognize anything as an early earring.  I wonder if we're finding them and assuming they are something else?  Anyone have some Colonial earrings to show me that are either European or early American?   

Colonial Earring.



 

  A thought...


  Watching the Antique Roadshow last night there was a couple of early paintings with the female subjects both wearing earrings.  They were not Native, so I would assume earrings were a normal Colonial era item.  Now here's the thing, in all the buttons, cufflinks, and all other trinkets I've dug I didn't recognize anything as an early earring.  I wonder if we're finding them and assuming they are something else?  Anyone have some Colonial earrings to show me that are either European or early American?   

Colonial Earring.

[ ERROR: SPECIFIED ATTACHMENT MISSING ]

 

   
   I guess one would have had to have seen that 300 post thread to think that's funny.











     

Well...I could've posted a Colonial Lathing Hatchet... 

My fav cufflink has not been ID-ed yet; it is brass and some type of leather or skin.  Breezie

Here are my meager cufflink finds....but then again I'm a newbie at this hobby.... 

Here are my meager cufflink finds....but then again I'm a newbie at this hobby.... 

Might be a newbie but it will be some years before you find a better Silver cufflink than that one! (you can mark my words & look back in 5 years time)

Here are my meager cufflink finds....but then again I'm a newbie at this hobby.... 

Mach 1,

Your first item appears to be a clothing clasp, if the back of it looks like these.  It took us a while to figure out what they were, but the Whatzit was finally solved:

http://forum.treasurenet.com/index.php/topic,214528.0.html

Cheers,

Buckles

Here are my meager cufflink finds....but then again I'm a newbie at this hobby.... 

Might be a newbie but it will be some years before you find a better Silver cufflink than that one! (you can mark my words & look back in 5 years time)

  Yep, I've hunted a ton of sites over ten years that was the perfect era for early cufflinks and you can see how limited my finds are.  I have found a few more, but nothing interesting.

Here are my meager cufflink finds....but then again I'm a newbie at this hobby.... 

Mach 1,

Your first item appears to be a clothing clasp, if the back of it looks like these.  It took us a while to figure out what they were, but the Whatzit was finally solved:

http://forum.treasurenet.com/index.php/topic,214528.0.html

Cheers,

Buckles

I think I need to clarify this a bit... the first two of my pictures are of the same item, just from the same angle. 

Thanks for the ID suggestion, though Buckles....  you are usually dead on with your ID skills    

Here are my meager cufflink finds....but then again I'm a newbie at this hobby.... 

Might be a newbie but it will be some years before you find a better Silver cufflink than that one! (you can mark my words & look back in 5 years time)

As much as I'd like to think that I'll find a better one tomorrow, no doubt you are absolutely correct about that insight!   

Found by Colonial Copper Zeus on a site settled in 1773.  We still don't know who the heck is on them.

Found by Colonial Copper Zeus on a site settled in 1773.  We still don't know who the heck is on them.

  I'll always believe it's a variation of the Rodney links.  The one top left even looks like it says "ROD"

I finally found one this past spring.  I get the feeling that it is mid to late 19th century.

Found by Colonial Copper Zeus on a site settled in 1773.  We still don't know who the heck is on them.

  I'll always believe it's a variation of the Rodney links.  The one top left even looks like it says "ROD"

The right one is a definate likeness of Punch from 'punch & Judy'
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Punch_and_Judy

'Punch was extremely popular in Paris, and, by the end of the 18th century, he was also playing in Britain's American colonies, where even George Washington bought tickets for a show.'

This post made me want to go and see what i had. I think there are a few more but here is what I dug out quickly.

A few more pics...I like the queen annes and the pillar the best.

  Not surprised you have some great cufflinks considering your other finds posts.  Man those just scream awesome Colonial sites!

  Not surprised you have some great cufflinks considering your other finds posts.  Man those just scream awesome Colonial sites!

Digging through this stuff really makes me want to hunt.

This post made me want to go and see what i had. I think there are a few more but here is what I dug out quickly.

Very nice collection, as IP says, you must have great sites

I believe the one I have picked out below is the top of a 18th Century button (bottom half's I never find attached)

  Not surprised you have some great cufflinks considering your other finds posts.  Man those just scream awesome Colonial sites!

Digging through this stuff really makes me want to hunt.

  I hear ya! 

 
  Ever have a site you forgot about for years, then it suddenly just hit you one day?  That just happened to me, and it's almost like a dream having been so many years ago and a place we spent so little time.  I still haven't been able to nail down exactly where it is on my aerial photos, but once we're close I think it should come back.  My diggin bud has no idea what place I'm talking about, and I don't even remember what we found there.  All I know was it was fairly old, was a fair amount of iron and pottery, and we did dig some coins.  I believe we hunted it twice and the 2nd time didn't give up too many targets and that was it.  Now many years later it's probably been plowed a ton and ready to give up a few finds.  When ideas like that pop in my mind I always think there's a reason, and we're meant to go back there.  This is an area we know our competition hunted, and probably why we kinda backed off, but in the last few years we've realized we gave those guys way too much credit!  While looking for this little lost site, I've also descoved a few older house sites that we were close to, but didn't go quite far enough.  I'm looking forward to get back to this area and see if this sudden thought came for a reason, a good reason, one made of silver, or covered in gilt. 

Awesome cufflinks, gwdigger! Wow, you have hit so awesome sites.

Kirk

This post made me want to go and see what i had. I think there are a few more but here is what I dug out quickly.

Very nice collection, as IP says, you must have great sites

I believe the one I have picked out below is the top of a 18th Century button (bottom half's I never find attached)

It could be. Its very small and looks like a cuff link button but the shank is indeed missing.

Still looking for the other half. But the neatest I have found. There is what appears to be a sword on the right hand side worn almost smooth at the hilt. Still waiting for response over the big puddle. Not a jeweler but looks to be hand tooled.

Still looking for the other half. But the neatest I have found. There is what appears to be a sword on the right hand side worn almost smooth at the hilt. Still waiting for response over the big puddle. Not a jeweler but looks to be hand tooled.

   Masonic cufflink. 

Still looking for the other half. But the neatest I have found. There is what appears to be a sword on the right hand side worn almost smooth at the hilt. Still waiting for response over the big puddle. Not a jeweler but looks to be hand tooled.

I really like this one.

Still looking for the other half. But the neatest I have found. There is what appears to be a sword on the right hand side worn almost smooth at the hilt. Still waiting for response over the big puddle. Not a jeweler but looks to be hand tooled.

Its nice, but what response are you hoping for?  Its a hand crafted commissioned piece for an 18th century mason.  You might get more details on the symbols from a mason but anything else is a guess

Yes it is nice, and one of my favorite historical finds. After numerous emails to and from Mark Tabbert, the curator for the George Washington Masonic Memorial Museum and also numerous emails and exchanges from professors and other museum curators from across the big puddle, this little cuff button has raised many questions.  The questions being, is it possibly the oldest Masonic relic in the USA or New Jersey? Who had these cuff buttons commissioned? Who made these cuff buttons and where? Why in New Jersey?  These where not my questions to begin with, but I'm going for the ride anyways. My original question was, what is the meaning and placement of the symbols, are they random?  I was told that Free Masonry and museum curators move like pond water. As far as what am I hoping for? There answers. I have had details given to me from masons about  some of the symbols but, most of the masons from the late 17th to early 18th century are dead or are movie stars, very hard for modern masons and movie stars to know what these symbols and there order might symbolize today. I realize that almost all knowledge is read and that there are no crystal balls, and that some of the read knowledge was most likely someones guess. If its going to be a guess, I would rather that the best guessers, are guessing.  Arty

Yes it is nice, and one of my favorite historical finds. After numerous emails to and from Mark Tabbert, the curator for the George Washington Masonic Memorial Museum and also numerous emails and exchanges from professors and other museum curators from across the big puddle, this little cuff button has raised many questions.  The questions being, is it possibly the oldest Masonic relic in the USA or New Jersey? Who had these cuff buttons commissioned? Who made these cuff buttons and where? Why in New Jersey?  These where not my questions to begin with, but I'm going for the ride anyways. My original question was, what is the meaning and placement of the symbols, are they random?  I was told that Free Masonry and museum curators move like pond water. As far as what am I hoping for? There answers. I have had details given to me from masons about  some of the symbols but, most of the masons from the late 17th to early 18th century are dead or are movie stars, very hard for modern masons and movie stars to know what these symbols and there order might symbolize today. I realize that almost all knowledge is read and that there are no crystal balls, and that some of the read knowledge was most likely someones guess. If its going to be a guess, I would rather that the best guessers, are guessing.  Arty

  Not that this helps you in anyway but I thought you'd be interested to see the ring I dug a few years ago.  I know who owned it, he was born in 1735, died in 1809 or 10, and was from New York city before he settled here.

Thanks IP, great thread and a very neat ring, and know who owned it to boot, wow that is a great find. Have you investigated the symbols? I know I just about fell over when I dug the cuff button  seeing the masonic symbols on it. If there are any answers to any of the questions posed I will let you know. Its not every day you get to dig something from that close to the beginning. Your success is well documented and most appreciated. Someones doing there homework. I see earlier in this post you remembered an old sight you use to hit. I will be visiting my old stomping grounds this fall less then an hour away from you, where I grew up. I remembered finding a man made cave, my brother and I  called it the hermits cave. We even camped outside of the opening, everyone was to chicken to sleep inside it. It went back about  fifty feet all rocks in an arch over six feet high with dirt piled over it in the middle of nowhere. It had a tree growing on top of it that was around three foot wide. That was in 1965.  Have you found anything like this in your wanderings any ideas? Arty

Yes it is nice, and one of my favorite historical finds. After numerous emails to and from Mark Tabbert, the curator for the George Washington Masonic Memorial Museum and also numerous emails and exchanges from professors and other museum curators from across the big puddle, this little cuff button has raised many questions.  The questions being, is it possibly the oldest Masonic relic in the USA or New Jersey? Who had these cuff buttons commissioned? Who made these cuff buttons and where? Why in New Jersey?  These where not my questions to begin with, but I'm going for the ride anyways. My original question was, what is the meaning and placement of the symbols, are they random?  I was told that Free Masonry and museum curators move like pond water. As far as what am I hoping for? There answers. I have had details given to me from masons about  some of the symbols but, most of the masons from the late 17th to early 18th century are dead or are movie stars, very hard for modern masons and movie stars to know what these symbols and there order might symbolize today. I realize that almost all knowledge is read and that there are no crystal balls, and that some of the read knowledge was most likely someones guess. If its going to be a guess, I would rather that the best guessers, are guessing.  Arty

  Not that this helps you in anyway but I thought you'd be interested to see the ring I dug a few years ago.  I know who owned it, he was born in 1735, died in 1809 or 10, and was from New York city before he settled here.

That is bad a$$ too. I really like this kind find.

Thanks IP, great thread and a very neat ring, and know who owned it to boot, wow that is a great find. Have you investigated the symbols? I know I just about fell over when I dug the cuff button  seeing the masonic symbols on it. If there are any answers to any of the questions posed I will let you know. Its not every day you get to dig something from that close to the beginning. Your success is well documented and most appreciated. Someones doing there homework. I see earlier in this post you remembered an old sight you use to hit. I will be visiting my old stomping grounds this fall less then an hour away from you, where I grew up. I remembered finding a man made cave, my brother and I  called it the hermits cave. We even camped outside of the opening, everyone was to chicken to sleep inside it. It went back about  fifty feet all rocks in an arch over six feet high with dirt piled over it in the middle of nowhere. It had a tree growing on top of it that was around three foot wide. That was in 1965.  Have you found anything like this in your wanderings any ideas? Arty

   Since I know who owned the ring and a bit about him, the symbols don't matter too much because my main interest will be researching the person. That said, maybe the symbols can help date it because as I said he was born in 1735, so even when in his 20s it is still only mid. 18th century.  One more thing that makes it very cool is that on Nov 4, 1776 in the New York Gazette he was among one of the signers to a declaration of allegiance to George III. Having been a Loyalist is what sent him North to settle just a few fields away from where I was living when I started detecting.  This is one of my finds that I like more and more as time goes on.

A great piece of history to say the least and a providence that goes with it. Thanks for posting the ring.  Outstanding find IP.

Here's a set that is way cool I just dug