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Some sort of finial?

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  • Some sort of finial?

    Hi all, I usually post on the what did I find forum, but used to do a little detecting in the past and have found quite a few things that I haven't been able to identify. For reference, I live in Louisiana and have hunted several old properties including a family homestead in East Baton Rouge parish dating back to the early 1800s. I'll post more later including some civil war finds, but now I'd like a take or two on this item I found on the homestead. Thanks in advance!

  • #2
    I have no clue but it's cool. I know I'm not helping much 🙂
    🐜 🎤 SW Georgia

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    • #3
      Well it looks like a bayonet scabbard finial, but I'm not really sure. It's definitely non regulation if it is. When you post more photos, be sure to add a size reference, because that could help.
      "The education of a man is never completed until he dies." Robert E. Lee

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      • #4
        What is the material ?
        Lubbock County Tx

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        • #5
          is it iron and yes more photos with something for scale . Thanks.
          TN formerly CT Visit our store http://stores.arrowheads.com/store.p...m-Trading-Post

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          • #6
            I have a feeling that it might be a whistle.
            I assume that it is made from brass.
            Bruce
            In life there are losers and finders. Which one are you?

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            • #7
              I don't know what exactly it is made of except that it is very heavy for its size and has some kind of coating that has corroded, hence the blue I think. Maybe brass or copper? The indentation appears to be damage to the item to me. The item is about three inches long and half inch wide.

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              • Kentucky point
                Kentucky point commented
                Editing a comment
                I haven't found anything like it, so I'm doubting its case as a finial. However, I do believe it was the tip to something, but I just don't know what.

            • #8
              Thank you for the better pictures. The material indeed seems to be brass, however I now realize that it is not a whistle. Good luck getting an identification.
              Bruce
              In life there are losers and finders. Which one are you?

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              • clovisoid
                clovisoid commented
                Editing a comment
                Whistle was my initial thought as well.

            • #9
              Thanks gents

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              • #10
                Just a guess but the top of a old iron fence maybe decoration of some kind
                NW Georgia,

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                • #11
                  These acorn finials crop up from time to time but no-one has reliably attributed them. There have been suggestions that they are flagpole toppers, like this one (claimed to be a rare Civil War regalia item):

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                  However, note that this is what the seller claimed, without providing an authoritative source for the attribution and it’s not tapered. Ebay sellers are of course renowned for claiming anything metal and not readily identified is a rare Civil War relic of course.

                  Here’s a similar one to yours which is tapered, has a screw through it to secure it to a wooden ‘pole’ of some kind, and there are remnants of something wooden in the hole.


                  Click image for larger version

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                  Apart from the (I think unlikely) possibility of a flag-pole topper. It was suggested that it might be the end part of a horse hame. They’re tapered and usually have a ‘ball’ end, but various shapes exist, including ‘top-hat’ and ‘acorn’, like this one:

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                  Note that those for attachment to wooden hames often have a protruding asymmetric ‘spur’ at the base like yours to hep prevent the hame snapping if the wood is thin. and the length of the spur seems to be proportional to the thinness of the wood at the attachment point.

                  Having said that, there are multiple other common possibilities for small acorn finials such as stair rods and curtain poles for example… but those don’t usually taper.

                  I keep six honest serving-men (they taught me all I knew); Their names are What and Why and When and How and Where and Who.

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                  • Cecilia
                    Cecilia commented
                    Editing a comment
                    There really should be a “Painshill’s Index”, a volume unto itself....🧐
                    Last edited by Cecilia; 10-10-2020, 03:31 PM.

                • #12
                  Wow... Thanks for that information!!

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