Militia belt plate

[BladeRunner]

Hello all.

I found this a couple weeks ago at the old house site where I found a few IHPs and a couple V nickels. When I dug it I thought it was just an old piece of junk metal. It wasn't until I got home that I noticed it had some designs on it.

It appears to be an 1840-1850 era militia plate. See bottom pic for a non dug example.

Even though the cost to restore is probably going to be more than it's value I have decided to go ahead and have it at least somewhat restored.

Front


Backside


Here is some info from a Pinterest post. If anybody has any information from an official source that would be great.


From a North Carolina estate - 1840 era dropped wing eagle stamped brass Militia "Panel Plate". These plates were commonly carried over from an earlier era, and worn by Confederates. This example came out of the estate with a number of Confederate pieces.

[Digger_O'Dell]

Nice piece, hope it restores well. Good luck!

[Pacivilwarluke]

Whoa that's super cool! I hope it gets restored nicely!

[del]

Wow Bill that is a sweet one to find , I can offer a couple of names of who do fantastic restorations if you don't have anyone in mind . its a great piece of military history and I thank you for sharing it with us . Please repost it when the work is completed , I always marvel at the final results .


P.s. I might be able to add a bit more info once i get home to check my reference books .
Dan

[Bucknut]

Congrats on the Plate!

[BladeRunner]

Thanks guys!

Dan, if you could provide any more details about it that would be great.

I have already selected somebody to do the restore and I shipped it off on Wednesday. Several names kept popping up while I was looking for somebody to do it. I don't know if there are any rules here as far as naming the person doing the restore.

I'll definitely post updated pics when I can.

Thanks again,
Bill

[del]

Bill there are two very similar patterns the 1850-1865 version . This had the small attached or brazed on "tongue". 57x85 mm Die struck rolled brass plate with brass tongue , belt loop bar keepers.These were a popular style of panel plate marketed before and during the Civil War. The original die was sunk during the 1850's. Possibly at the machine shop of Philadelphia's Horstmann company which advertised a similar pattern. these had a superior die-strike compared with the following postwar version.

Then there was the post war type 1865 -1900 version . This had a much larger applied or brazed on tongue .While this device resembles the previous , the die work is inferior . it is a post war style marketed in quantity by Horstmann. Some were made of thin, cheap brass while others consisted of tin-coated iron slightly thicker than a tin can.

Bill you are free to name the person doing the work , as i suspect its probably Mr. Frodigh.

Dan

[OxShoeDrew]

Wow! Good thing you're not one to throw plate metal into a stone wall, or worse, leave it in the hole. Nice job capturing a wonderful piece of history! Isn't Dan a wealth of info? Congrats!

[BTV Digger]

Great find! Congrats on that and hoping the restoration brings back some of its former glory.

John

[BladeRunner]

Bill there are two very similar patterns the 1850-1865 version . This had the small attached or brazed on "tongue". 57x85 mm Die struck rolled brass plate with brass tongue , belt loop bar keepers.These were a popular style of panel plate marketed before and during the Civil War. The original die was sunk during the 1850's. Possibly at the machine shop of Philadelphia's Horstmann company which advertised a similar pattern. these had a superior die-strike compared with the following postwar version.

Then there was the post war type 1865 -1900 version . This had a much larger applied or brazed on tongue .While this device resembles the previous , the die work is inferior . it is a post war style marketed in quantity by Horstmann. Some were made of thin, cheap brass while others consisted of tin-coated iron slightly thicker than a tin can.

Bill you are free to name the person doing the work , as i suspect its probably Mr. Frodigh.

Dan

Wow, that is great information Dan. It's probably impossible to tell considering how damaged it is, but do you think mine is the earlier version?

What is kinda bad about when I found it, when it came out of the hole it just looked like junk metal and was folded pretty much in half, so I unfolded it somewhat and tossed it in the pouch. I probably did some damage that could have been avoided had I been paying more attention.

I am going back to the site tomorrow to see if I can find the missing pieces. It's unlikely, but worth a shot.

Correct on the guess. It is Mr. Frodigh.

GL & HH
Bill

[BladeRunner]

Here are some pics of the progress that Roland send me last night. In my discussions with him about doing the restoration, I indicated that I wanted a minimal restore and to keep it original as possible. He agreed to take it to a point he felt comfortable with (since his name would be associated with it) and then let me decide if i wanted to take it any further.

Based on the pics below I have decided to stop the restoration at this point. Considering the condition it was dug, I think it turned out pretty amazing!

Now I just hope it is the prewar style and not postwar.

[del]

Roland does some great work ! I wish i was that talented , you have a great looking plate Bill . Thanks for sharing the pictures.

Dan

[RIdirtdigger]

Awesome Find!

[The Rebel]

That's an awesome find. Would love to know how they are able to unfiold these pcs & make look so good w/o destroying them.

[BladeRunner]

Thanks guys.

[chief5709]

WoW great find. It pays to put the "trash" in your bag.

[Donnie B]

Congratulations! Can't wait to see it restored!

[leslie(nova scotia)]

Great find and love to see it once repaired!

[driftwood1963]

Killer!