Rare silver knee buckle, Updated with cleaner Pics.

Went back and hit the field I have been diggin the last few days. It was a slow night tonight. But I did manage this Buckle that I thought was a brooch til I got it home. This is probably the best buckle I have ever dug. All in all Im happy with tonights digs. Also posted it in the what is it forum, to try an find out exactly how old it is.


Heres a couple new pics of the buckle cleaned up a little better. This thing is a bear to clean. Been usuing a toothpic. That rust comes off hard.

Holy crap, you just got yourself a silver 1700s knee buckle. GREAT find!!!!! This is a Banner find for sure. I am voting.

Kirk

Thats sweet !!        

Keep @ it and HH !!   

Thank you Kirk!

Thanks mud!

Really a nice buckle! 

Sweet I never would have guessed 1700s 

You're crushing mainer....

Very nice buckle

  Oh yeah !!   Lion hallmark ..screams colonial   guaranteed  .925 sterling standard, missing the town mark , makers , and date marks       another vote !!!!! dawg

Thanks all! I guess this is rarer then I originally thought, Crusader is digging up some good info on the what is it forum.

Jesse, after reading Crusaders and others comments on the what is it section, it is pretty clear you have made an amazing discovery here.  This would seem to me a definite banner find and probably has a fair amount of value.. Easily one of my top 3 favorite finds this year by anyone on the forum.

Vote submitted

Awesome buckle.
Congrats
Dman

very nice find that is a nice buckle

 

Jesse, after reading Crusaders and others comments on the what is it section, it is pretty clear you have made an amazing discovery here.  This would seem to me a definite banner find and probably has a fair amount of value.. Easily one of my top 3 favorite finds this year by anyone on the forum.

Spoken from a true friend. Thank you so much Jeff.

Jesse, after reading Crusaders and others comments on the what is it section, it is pretty clear you have made an amazing discovery here.  This would seem to me a definite banner find and probably has a fair amount of value.. Easily one of my top 3 favorite finds this year by anyone on the forum.

Spoken from a true friend. Thank you so much Jeff.

In regards to rarity, anytime you dig something English made that Crusader doesnt have, good bet its rare

oooh, that's a pretty buckle for sure.
Great find~!

Sweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeet

In regards to rarity, anytime you dig something English made that Crusader doesnt have, good bet its rare
[/quote]

This is true.

oooh, that's a pretty buckle for sure.
Great find~!

Thanks Mike.

  impressive!!!

Excellent silver buckle   you dont see many of those dug on this side, it is in great shape and a rare find it has a very similar floral design to the shoe buckle i dug last year, great hunt   Dd60

That is the best relic I have seen this year. I have a huge soft spot for colonial buckles.

Wow!!!  If you're going to find a buckle...that's the one to find!  BANNER!!

Thanks guys. Sniffy thats a real honor. Been a lot of nice stuff dug this year. Thank you.

Thanks Romeo!

Of all the buckles I've seen posted on TN, this is definately the best.

BANNER!!!!!!

Thank you Eagledown. Much appreciated.

That is one sweet silver knee buckle... I have 2 now both colonial..one being a Rev War soldiers... but not as a neat design as that ...congrats

Thanks Patriot.

Congratulations on a real nice knee buckle!  I have found broken silver ones, but never a complete one.   I am going to weigh in on the age question and say 1790 - 1800 based on the pin terminals.  Here is a page out of the Archaeological Excavation of Fort Ligonier by Jacob Grimm.  I have found this observation about knee and shoe buckles to hold true based on examples I have found on sites where I can narrow the occupation period down to a certain window, either pre Rev War or post Rev War.

Again, nice find 

Wow!!!  If you're going to find a buckle...that's the one to find!  BANNER!!

yeah, the more i look at this, the more i like it

Mainer, I can't stop looking at that knee buckle. I called Kyle and told him about it and we were both saying how great and rare of a find this truly is. Kyle told me that he once read an account about a prominent settler in our area back in the 1790s that was know to wear silver shoe/knee buckles.

How many Colonial coins have you found here? Great job on hunting the Maine Colonial beast.

Kirk

            Excellent ornate buckle Jesse!!! That's a nice one for your Colonial collection. Congrats, Quindy.

Fantastic find.

Banner-worthy for sure.

Enjoy your posts. Looking forward to more of them.

Congrats.

Brian in MA

Congratulations from down south. 

Awesome find    Congratulations   
TTH

Smells like Banner to me, can't wait till someone tracks down info on the hallmark.
Now go and find the matching pair!
Carl

Wow that is a great buckle   I love finding them ...I never found a silver one...1730-1760 im pretty sure...That is an incredible find...Well done

Thank you all so much.

Kirk, this came from the same field I dug the 1694 William and Mary, and the KG II. Have also dug half a shoe buckle, and some colonial buttons.  Thanks for the nice comments.

Smells like Banner to me, can't wait till someone tracks down info on the hallmark.
Now go and find the matching pair!
Carl

I think the odds of finding the other one are worse then winning the lottery. But you can bet I will try.

sweet find  congrats 

that's freakin gorgeous! congrats dude! 

That's about the best buckle i've seen posted so far. I would be content to coast out the rest of the year and be content that 2010 was a resounding success. Congrats Mainer.
Chris

Wow As soon as I saw the pictures of this piece I thought, man that thing really has some age!
Congratulations on your incredible find mainer!

wow fantastic find, what a beauty.

stupid question, what is a knee buckle?
I try to google it and get a bunch of links about buckleing knees  

Edit: Oh and Banner vote all the way

That is a nice one for sure 

Brian

Wow Mainer, you gave me nervous stomach just at the sight of it! Very nice find  you have my vote chief.

Jesse, after reading Crusaders and others comments on the what is it section, it is pretty clear you have made an amazing discovery here.  This would seem to me a definite banner find and probably has a fair amount of value.. Easily one of my top 3 favorite finds this year by anyone on the forum.

Spoken from a true friend. Thank you so much Jeff.

In regards to rarity, anytime you dig something English made that Crusader doesnt have, good bet its rare

Not only me but most of the UK, its not in any of my 4 Buckle Books, its not recorded on the Portable Antiquities Scheme or the UKDFD.  Not to say others haven't found any, only that none were available when the books were done or recorded properly.  However, this does indicate its rarity!

Lets get the first UK Banner buckle

amazing knee buckle!  I have one almost identical EXCEPT it's not SILVER!!!!!        Super sweet find buddy and it's a Banner find no doubt! 

that will make a nice addition to the banner!!!
Congrats on that beauty !!

Thanks to everyone that has voted and responded. I appreciate it.

There is 1 example of a ornate colonial silver buckle found in the USA it is in Treasure World magazine it has similar floral design,s

http://www.treasurenet.com/westeast/200009/relichunter/

Great job on cleaning the buckle. How did you do it? I would like to see the other side as well. This should be on the Banner.

Kirk

Thanks for the link Deepdigger.

Hey Kirk, I used a toothpick to clean it. Took a while. Still picking away at the back. No Pun intended.

 I was wondering how well that would clean.... and it did!    Will look great in your case.

There is 1 example of a ornate colonial silver buckle found in the USA it is in Treasure World magazine it has similar floral design,s

http://www.treasurenet.com/westeast/200009/relichunter/

  The pieces of one I found a few years back would have been from a buckle similar to that.  Would have been nice to find complete.

Hey IP, what do you think is a rarer dig? A silver shoe buckle or knee buckle? Just asking out of curiousity. I dug about 3/4's of a silver shoe buckle this spring. And I think I have another piece of one kicking around here somewhere.

Hey IP, what do you think is a rarer dig? A silver shoe buckle or knee buckle? Just asking out of curiousity. I dug about 3/4's of a silver shoe buckle this spring. And I think I have another piece of one kicking around here somewhere.

About the same. I remember that silver shoe buckle from you this year. I would take part of one and call it a great relic.

Kirk

Hey IP, what do you think is a rarer dig? A silver shoe buckle or knee buckle? Just asking out of curiousity. I dug about 3/4's of a silver shoe buckle this spring. And I think I have another piece of one kicking around here somewhere.

  I would say about even.  It's something I think we should see more of, but here we don't dig many, period, nevermind silver.

  I have a friend who dug a killer early silver  knee buckle.  Was probably early 1700s, loaded with marks, and still worked!  I haven't seen a better one found.

Thanks Kirk and IP. I have dug probably in the neighborhood of 15-20 shoe buckles this year. Some whole mostly broken ones. I think this is the first knee buckle of the year. Which is why I asked.

Yep...that is real treasure!

Thanks Kirk and IP. I have dug probably in the neighborhood of 15-20 shoe buckles this year. Some whole mostly broken ones. I think this is the first knee buckle of the year. Which is why I asked.

  Buckles in general we have dug a lot.  Knee/shoe not many at all.  This is my best one.  (1720s-1750s)

I have seen that one before in another one of your posts. Its a beauty for sure. Still function?

I have seen that one before in another one of your posts. Its a beauty for sure. Still function?

   Nope.  And probably better because I would have likely broke it from playing too much.  Long Winters you know.... and I know you know! 

I could get you good on that comment but I'll take the high road here, and just say I know just what your sayin.

sweet piece of silver, mainer. certainly one of the cooler things i've seen posted this year.
hope you can find some more info on it.
banner for sure!

Love it mainer  Got my vote 

Thank you Dwayne and Ironspike. Appreciate it.

Congratulations on a well deserved Banner!

Thank you Bill. And THANK YOU to everyone who has voted. Means alot to me.

The silver didnt rust. It was the center piece that rusted and stained the silver.

Congrats on the banner , mainer    superb cleaning on that baby !! 

Thank ya Mr. Dawg.

 Congratulations Mainer. I just clicked in and saw the buckle. You always find a good variety of things and I like this one best. Nice job on the cleaning and congratulations on a well deserved Banner find.
Glad it was you.
Happy Hunting.
TnMtns

As the Dawg said, great job of cleaning and even better job of not overcleaning.. Was praying this thing wasnt gonna be all shiny when I saw your update..   Congratulations on the banner (no hard feelings about knocking my button off )

Congratulations Mainer. I just clicked in and saw the buckle. You always find a good variety of things and I like this one best. Nice job on the cleaning and congratulations on a well deserved Banner find.
Glad it was you.
Happy Hunting.
TnMtns

Thank you TnMtns. Appreciate the comments.

As the Dawg said, great job of cleaning and even better job of not overcleaning.. Was praying this thing wasnt gonna be all shiny when I saw your update..  Congratulations on the banner (no hard feelings about knocking my button off )

No worries buddy. Almost like I knew what I was doing or somthing. Trust me I didnt. Just knew better then to overclean it. Sorry bout bumping you off the banner. I know you will be up there again soon.

Congrats on the great find and making the Banner! It is an awesome piece.

Great job on the cleaning.

HOT DANG DUDE!!!I take it back you are a stud!! :thumbsup:Huge congrats on that and the BANNER!

Grats Mainer! This kind of beauty is why I, and so many others on this site, live in the past. This is why we do it.  

that's a beauty, must have been fun diggin that up. I've never seen a buckle like that b4

very very nice      MR TUFF

Congratulations on a super-duper Colonial knee buckle and  for making the banner!   Great find, Breezie

Very exquisite thing  . Lion passant guardant looks good on it. Congrats on the banner.

First British Colonial Buckle on the BANNER

Wow !! Breathtaking buckle! Love it man, keep it up!! I have only found one with flowers on it.Wish it was silver.

Thank you guys all so much. Never would have made it up there without all you guys.

Smells like Banner to me, can't wait till someone tracks down info on the hallmark.
Now go and find the matching pair!
Carl

I think the odds of finding the other one are worse then winning the lottery. But you can bet I will try.

Beautiful find. Congrats! I wouldn't completely dismiss the idea of finding the other one. It could happen. I found both halves of a rev war neck stock clasp and certainly never expected to. Good luck!

Smells like Banner to me, can't wait till someone tracks down info on the hallmark.
Now go and find the matching pair!
Carl

I think the odds of finding the other one are worse then winning the lottery. But you can bet I will try.

Beautiful find. Congrats! I wouldn't completely dismiss the idea of finding the other one. It could happen. I found both halves of a rev war neck stock clasp and certainly never expected to. Good luck!

Its possible, but different from a stock clasp which joined together.  What you would need to happen is have them break off each knee or shoe at the same time, that is pretty unlikely.

Oh I totaly agree, I dont believe the other one will ever be found. But strange things happen, although that would be like hitting the jackpot.

Its possible, but different from a stock clasp which joined together.  What you would need to happen is have them break off each knee or shoe at the same time, that is pretty unlikely.

No necessarily true. The neck stock clasp was not found together. It was found in a trash pit. Many people (including myself previously) believe that the vast majority of things we find are "lost" items with the thinking that items were very hard to come by and people were very resourceful and re-used and cherished everything from buttons to thimbles and buckles. I have discovered over many hunts that a large percentage of my finds were simply discarded in the trash. You would think with an item like a silver buckle there is no way they would toss it, but the neck stock clasp I found was tossed out, and it was not an issued item. An officer had it made for his own personal use.

Items were buried and hidden away in caches etc, and this silver buckle could have been put there in such a scenario. The land changes a lot over a couple hundred years, and caches get moved around easily.

My point is, yeah, you very well may never find the other one and I would lean towards that being the case...but there is a chance you will.

wow fantastic find, what a beauty.

stupid question, what is a knee buckle?
I try to google it and get a bunch of links about buckleing knees  

Edit: Oh and Banner vote all the way

Bob, I had no idea what a knee buckle was either so did
some searches.  Found this image with caption while
doing a image search of..
...  colonial mens wardrobe, knee buckles...
on google.

A Gentleman of Connecticut: This portrait, by Ralph Earl,
signed and dated 1799, shows how jewelry, coat and
vest buttons and knee buckles, was used as ornaments
to the costume.

I don't know why some questions get totally ignored
here, I had never heard of a knee buckle before,
except from my doctor.

Its possible, but different from a stock clasp which joined together.  What you would need to happen is have them break off each knee or shoe at the same time, that is pretty unlikely.

No necessarily true. The neck stock clasp was not found together. It was found in a trash pit. Many people (including myself previously) believe that the vast majority of things we find are "lost" items with the thinking that items were very hard to come by and people were very resourceful and re-used and cherished everything from buttons to thimbles and buckles. I have discovered over many hunts that a large percentage of my finds were simply discarded in the trash. You would think with an item like a silver buckle there is no way they would toss it, but the neck stock clasp I found was tossed out, and it was not an issued item. An officer had it made for his own personal use.

Items were buried and hidden away in caches etc, and this silver buckle could have been put there in such a scenario. The land changes a lot over a couple hundred years, and caches get moved around easily.

My point is, yeah, you very well may never find the other one and I would lean towards that being the case...but there is a chance you will.

You are correct about many items that we find having been thrown out.  But people just didn't throw out silver.  I too have found military buckles of all sorts that were discarded--even both pieces of two-piece military buckles (which means that the whole belt was tossed out) along with almost all of the uniform buttons (which means that the whole coat was thrown out). 

But I strongly disagree with the notion that folks tossed out items made of silver.  It would be like tossing out several two reales coins just for the heck of it!  (And this was in a day and age when metal traded and circulated freely because of their value, whether or not they were neatly struck into circular discs issued by a government).  Trade silver, "sharp shins" and other cut silver, cut coppers, and other trade items are all cases in point.


I am VERY pleased that such a great item made the banner. 


Regards,



Buckles 

Its possible, but different from a stock clasp which joined together.  What you would need to happen is have them break off each knee or shoe at the same time, that is pretty unlikely.

No necessarily true. The neck stock clasp was not found together. It was found in a trash pit. Many people (including myself previously) believe that the vast majority of things we find are "lost" items with the thinking that items were very hard to come by and people were very resourceful and re-used and cherished everything from buttons to thimbles and buckles. I have discovered over many hunts that a large percentage of my finds were simply discarded in the trash. You would think with an item like a silver buckle there is no way they would toss it, but the neck stock clasp I found was tossed out, and it was not an issued item. An officer had it made for his own personal use.

Items were buried and hidden away in caches etc, and this silver buckle could have been put there in such a scenario. The land changes a lot over a couple hundred years, and caches get moved around easily.

My point is, yeah, you very well may never find the other one and I would lean towards that being the case...but there is a chance you will.

You are correct about many items that we find having been thrown out.  But people just didn't throw out silver.  I too have found military buckles of all sorts that were discarded--even both pieces of two-piece military buckles (which means that the whole belt was tossed out) along with almost all of the uniform buttons (which means that the whole coat was thrown out). 

But I strongly disagree with the notion that folks tossed out items made of silver.  It would be like tossing out several two reales coins just for the heck of it!  (And this was in a day and age when metal traded and circulated freely because of their value, whether or not they were neatly struck into circular discs issued by a government).  Trade silver, "sharp shins" and other cut silver, cut coppers, and other trade items are all cases in point.

I am VERY pleased that such a great item made the banner. 

Regards,

Buckles 

I understood years ago that most of my finds were dumped on the field & not lost.  That being said, I agree with BB.

Its possible, but different from a stock clasp which joined together.  What you would need to happen is have them break off each knee or shoe at the same time, that is pretty unlikely.

No necessarily true. The neck stock clasp was not found together. It was found in a trash pit. Many people (including myself previously) believe that the vast majority of things we find are "lost" items with the thinking that items were very hard to come by and people were very resourceful and re-used and cherished everything from buttons to thimbles and buckles. I have discovered over many hunts that a large percentage of my finds were simply discarded in the trash. You would think with an item like a silver buckle there is no way they would toss it, but the neck stock clasp I found was tossed out, and it was not an issued item. An officer had it made for his own personal use.

Items were buried and hidden away in caches etc, and this silver buckle could have been put there in such a scenario. The land changes a lot over a couple hundred years, and caches get moved around easily.

My point is, yeah, you very well may never find the other one and I would lean towards that being the case...but there is a chance you will.

You are correct about many items that we find having been thrown out.  But people just didn't throw out silver.  I too have found military buckles of all sorts that were discarded--even both pieces of two-piece military buckles (which means that the whole belt was tossed out) along with almost all of the uniform buttons (which means that the whole coat was thrown out). 

But I strongly disagree with the notion that folks tossed out items made of silver.  It would be like tossing out several two reales coins just for the heck of it!  (And this was in a day and age when metal traded and circulated freely because of their value, whether or not they were neatly struck into circular discs issued by a government).  Trade silver, "sharp shins" and other cut silver, cut coppers, and other trade items are all cases in point.


I am VERY pleased that such a great item made the banner. 


Regards,



Buckles 

    Must have been a Hunt brother or two back then. 

          Jesse, Congrats on the BANNER and a most excellent relic. HH, Quindy.

Buckle Boy and Quindy, Thanks for the support. Great to finally be up there.

Congrats from down in here Texas! 

Thank you Thrillathehunt.

Hi mainer
Fantastic, very rare in that contition, weldone.
             Dave.

Hi mainer
Fantastic, very rare in that contition, weldone.
             Dave.

Thank you!