English coat of arms?

[jabbo]

Attractive pin found in a 1700's farm field. About the size of a quarter, was black when I dug it, but some scrubbing with a brass wire brush and silver polish cleaned it up real nice. Has a British crown at the top. The symbols on it are too tiny to ID, even with a magnifying glass. The pin on the back is corroded away. Found it several months ago where British troops were. At first I thought it was from the Rev War era. Anyone know anything about it? Is it only a piece of common jewelry or did it have some kind of special meaning. I found a half dozen British pennies and an Irish copper coin from the 1700's at this farm but this pin may not be that old.

 

[flinthunter]

I believe this type of jewelry is called a crest brooch. Since it is marked sterling and the pin appears to be completely rusted away I would guess that it dates from the late 1800's to the early 1900's. You should be able to get an approximate date by researching the clasp style.

 

[jabbo]

Flint, Thanks for the info. I looked on the internet, saw a British crest brooch almost identical. Will have to look again. Jabbo

 

[goldnugget]

Beautiful, Being Sterling it has to be Old..Try to get some information from a United Kingdom Metal Detecting web Site--Detecting England---Rally U K---Midland MDC Co Uk--goldnugget

 

[1859large]

Old british stuff would not have sterling on it but would often have hallmarks indicating the age of it and wh.o and where it was made. Without those it is probably late 19th century or later and not British made. The motifs on the sheild look a bit like jibberish and don't look like something heraldic, maybe just a melange of heraldic symbols without meaning, just decorative.

Google "silver hallmarks" and "heraldic symbols" and you will see what I mean.