Revolutionary War cufflinks??

[tanacat]

I found these cufflinks yesterday at old settlement in the middle of a 100 acre plowed field. I've been pulling flat buttons, buckles and bullets that date late 1700's/early 1800's. Took my friend out there and he found a clipped Spanish Reale!!!

Anyway, I can't find these cufflinks anywhere online but I think the man looks like a Revolutionary War soldier- maybe military? There's what looks like a cannon on the left and he's holding a curved sword? I soaked them in olive oil for a bit and think they cleaned up pretty nice! Does anyone know what they might be?

[Lodge Scent]

WOW! Great find! Great shape too. Even if they don't quite go back to the Rev War (I hope they do !), it still is a heck of a find!

[del]

Tana , that is a great looking cufflink (are you sure they aren't silver and very crusty dirty ??) . it definately looks late colonial in design and motif , i've not seen that motif design on a cufflink before , they were definately cast with the motif and not hand carved or etched . its a very cool and unique find , not to mention a very personable relic. i'll look around to see if i can come up with some info on it .

Dan

[freemindstuck]

Tana , that is a great looking cufflink (are you sure they aren't silver and very crusty dirty ??) . it definately looks late colonial in design and motif , i've not seen that motif design on a cufflink before , they were definately cast with the motif and not hand carved or etched . its a very cool and unique find , not to mention a very personable relic. i'll look around to see if i can come up with some info on it .

Dan

That is incredibly cool!!! Congratulation Tanacat! I agree with Dan the patina looks like they could be silver. You can buy a metal test kit with a test stone off of Amazon for around 15 bucks.

Adrian

[skribnodsister]

Tanacat that is a pretty sweet looking cuff link!

[tanacat]

Tanacat that is a pretty sweet looking cuff link!

Thanks sister! I'm having fun making a display case with only items found at this site. I was hoping to find a coin before sharing it on the forum but my friend Kevin beat me to it - a clipped spanish reale So I'll go ahead and share with a pic of the piece and maybe help us date it.

Tana , that is a great looking cufflink (are you sure they aren't silver and very crusty dirty ??) .

That is incredibly cool!!! Congratulation Tanacat! I agree with Dan the patina looks like they could be silver. You can buy a metal test kit with a test stone off of Amazon for around 15 bucks.

Adrian

Thanks for looking guys! I'm excited about how old they are and to add to the collection I cleaned lightly with steel wool on the back to expose lettering (couldn't find any)... and it sure doesn't seem to be silver. They rang in at about 15 VDI (nickel).

Looking at the pic - the shank seems to have a bit of silver shining through -maybe nicked by my digger or a plow/disc

Perhaps I should clean with silver polish? I'm a little paranoid 'cleaning' a collectible in case it's rare and worth thousands lol

WOW! Great find! Great shape too. Even if they don't quite go back to the Rev War (I hope they do !), it still is a heck of a find!

Thanks! The hat and clothes look very Rev to me. I'm thinking maybe take them to our University Archaelogy Dept to have a look at these items, might shed some light on the area too. It would be so neat if there was a pic of that old house somewhere in archives I could put a little pic of it in my display case! I'm ready to make three stepping stones from the broken china/pottery from that site!

[Cheap Thrills]

Wow , awesome find tana !! I like the way you got your lighting to bring out the detail so well . I have a real hard time doing that and sometimes it takes me an incredible amount of attempts just to get a halfway decent shot .

[del]

Tana , i'm convinced that the cufflink commemorates a person or an event but i'm not sure what yet . first impressions would have me believe the person on the cufflink to be any of the following Lord Rodney , Lafayette or even Napoleon or Lord wellington . the events could be any of the associated battles to such names i mentioned . if you do take it to the university ask about the above people i mentioned .

Dan

[tanacat]

Wow , awesome find tana !! I like the way you got your lighting to bring out the detail so well . I have a real hard time doing that and sometimes it takes me an incredible amount of attempts just to get a halfway decent shot .

:hysterical: Oh my goodness Baba that's hilarious --- because it took prob 50 shots to get the orangish one with kitchen light the other one was in natural light and turned out great first try! Natural light is the key... Btw, I just read what you said to hubby (Tom) and he cracked up. He kept finding me in different rooms trying out different lighting, obsessing, obsessing, obsessing... you're still trying to get a good shot? lol I need a new camera (hint hint)

[tanacat]

Tana , i'm convinced that the cufflink commemorates a person or an event but i'm not sure what yet . first impressions would have me believe the person on the cufflink to be any of the following Lord Rodney , Lafayette or even Napoleon or Lord wellington . the events could be any of the associated battles to such names i mentioned . if you do take it to the university ask about the above people i mentioned .

Dan

Do you remember when I hunted Joseph Crockett's homestead? I shared a thread and made a slide show here a few years ago... He was Davy Crockett's uncle and a Revolutionary War soldier and very good friends with General Lafayette. Well, this site where I've been hunting this past year is only a couple miles down the same road! I think I remember reading about LaFayette visiting him and he definately came to his funeral... over 1000 people showed up. In fact he is buried right there in a tiny cemetary surrounded by wrought iron fence, next to the old house.

Thanks Dan- this def gives me something to go by to find the cufflinks. It's so neat to be able to connect them like that. I will def show Joseph Crockett's property owner the cufflinks and ask to hunt there some more. Btw, this site is very secretive- not publicized anywhere. I happenstanced finding it by asking permission to hunt the 'vacant' house down the road behind the barn when I was arrowhead hunting that field. The property owners then gave me historical details and showed me the cemetary... this would be an EXCELLENT place for a group hunt for my local MD club. (Oh, NOT the cemetary- the site!!! lol ) Woo! I love this hobby Even my non-detecting husband is intrigued by these cufflinks lol

[aloldstuff]

Tana, what a great find. 100 acre area, thats fantastic. Hope you are the next one to score a coin from that place. Can you post some pictures of the displays when they are done.

[Tony Two-Cent]

What an incredible find, Tana! It's one of those wonderfully historic finds that really gets the imagination working, wondering who the cufflinks belonged to and whether they were worn on a special occasion.

I hope you get to go back to that site and find some more goodies! |

[Thiltzy]

Incredible find Tana Thanks for posting the pics I really enjoy it. Please keep us updated

[tanacat]

Thanks guys!

I've been reading a lot about Lafayette- was surprised to see that he made 14 month tour through 24 states from 1824-1825 and one of his stops (May 14th 1825) was 5 miles from Lexington -within a few miles where I found these cufflinks!

He stayed the night with John Keene and there's a historical marker there noting his visit He was met by everyone in U.S. with hugs and tears. I wonder if these cufflinks commemorated his visit... or maybe they were actually his lol I couldn't find the old house on a 1877 county map, it may have been torn down already.

Headed out there now for a couple hours- wish me luck! |

[Lodge Scent]

That is very cool when you can associate an actual historical connection to a find !!

[tanacat]

That is very cool when you can associate an actual historical connection to a find !!

I've been obsessing over these cufflinks lol looking them up online- NOT cleaning them! I think my husband might be jealous of my 2 new boyfriends rofl

I don't think they are silver as usually not tarnished being in the ground in my parts. Every piece of silver I've found comes out like the day it was dropped. It seems water finds are the ones that are tarnished, that I see here on the forums...

I've had some interesting PMs lately about these cufflinks, people wanting to buy them, referrals to relic collectors, suggestions not to clean them thumbsup01 I'm so curious about their history. If only these fields and barn walls could talk...

[OxShoeDrew]

I don't know how I missed this post. I saw them up on the banner and had to check 'em out. They are in awesome shape. Were they under a rock? I once dug a shoe buckle that was under a flat rock, it looked like it was made yesterday. Congrats!

[tanacat]

I don't know how I missed this post. I saw them up on the banner and had to check 'em out. They are in awesome shape. Were they under a rock? I once dug a shoe buckle that was under a flat rock, it looked like it was made yesterday. Congrats!

About 10 down in plowed corn/soybean field... of course they've been tossed and tumbled to different depths over the years. I'm so glad disc hadn't injured them at one point!

[HEAVYMETALNUT]

gorgeous cufflinks! best pair i think i've ever seen!

[tanacat]

gorgeous cufflinks! best pair i think i've ever seen!

Thanks Dave! I think I'll do as Sal suggested and take them to Historical Society or auction house and try to find an expert to help I.D. them. They could be valuable...

Oh and of course I'll be up in that field looking for the other pair lol after this rain and snow let up

They'll be getting ready to plow again soon- hope they don't get injured if I don't find them first. I just know they're out there still!