Sorry for the bad pics Dave, here are some good ones!

[Anonymous]

Same as before, heavy for its size and somwhere in size between a quarter and a half dollar. Thanks for your patience and help!

 

[Anonymous]

used my scanner this time instead of the digital camera, hope this helps!

 

[Anonymous]

Could be a lead seal.

 

[Anonymous]

It's really hard to tell, but I do not think it was a rosette, especially if it is solid lead. However, if it has a brass front, then it may be a damaged rosette. Could it be made of silver?

 

[Anonymous]

Thaks David, how do I tell if it is made of silver?

 

[Anonymous]

After you suggested it might be silver, I went back and examined it more closely. It is much too hard to be lead, and a small nick that was put into it while digging reveals the interior to be bright and shiny.I will probably take it to a local jeweler and find out for sure what it is made of. Thanks for the help, but the question remains, what on earth is it? Did you have somthing in mind when you suggested silver as the material in question? Again, thanks in advance.

 

[Anonymous]

Just wanted to check with you all, do you see a 3 in this picture? Please venture any guesses towards what this may be. Thanks for your help and patience.

 

[Anonymous]

Now it is looking like something. I'd do some more careful cleaning and I am willing to bet you have something there. <IMG SRC="/metal/html/usmc.gif" BORDER=0 width=19 height=21 ALT="usmc">

 

[Anonymous]

Your local jeweler should be able to ID the metal if it's Silver. What is it? My thoughts would lead to believe that during the "coin Silver" age, a Silversmith or craftsman may have had overpour spillage that puddled up. They usually were careful to salvage all scrap, but I have found a similar piece as yours, and it turned out to be Silver slag (scrap). The large mansion where I found it, dates to 1790s here in TN. One of my friends found a large Silver shoe buckle on the property. Once, a few years ago, I found a coin Silver spoon at an old house site while looking for relics. Who knows really. Sometimes we can only speculate what something was. You should try to ID prehistoric tools left by Paleoman (Native American's that entered North America 15,000 years ago). Now that's are real dive into probability and guesswork. Good hunting, David @ Dixie <center><a href="http://www.dixie-metal-detectors.com"><img src="/metal/html/d-m.jpg"></center>

 

[Anonymous]

thanks david, interesting theory. Good lead to go on.