Jewelry box hinge with fastening nail(not a screw) still attached?

[Petespockets55]

I went out metal detecting on Sat. and found this hinge, 6" down in the dirt, in the scrub and underbrush about 50' west of the dune line in Sebastian Florida.

At first I thought it was vintage because the color seemed uneven and there was no pitting or missing metal. But then I noticed the square nail in one hole for securing to some wood (Jewelry box?). The nail is telling me that it is fairly old. There is a second hole for a second nail (lost) with some perimeter metal bent over!
It appears to be cast bronze or maybe brass.
Enjoy the images and thanks for any info about the age or type of metal you can send my way.
Cliff
JewelryBoxHinge_3inGroup1_NoScaleJune2018.jpg

[VAB2013]

Very interesting find Cliff! You made me google the nail... here's one thing I found https://www.realorrepro.com/article/...s-clues-to-age

I realize this article is about nails used for wood but thought there might be a connection.

[GrumpyEd]

Metal detecting is fun when you find strange stuff, like on TV they'll know what something is but most of my things are left unknown.

This one is odd. I'm not sure the square nail thing is vintage as a square nail or if being square had a function like if 2 parts were connected there they can't swivel like they would without a square fastener. They used it like a rivet, flattened on the tip. Interesting. It does seem ornate like a jewel box hinge could be.

Some odd stuff I find seem like strange shoe parts, belt parts or even bridal (horse) stuff.

[Petespockets55]

Very interesting find Cliff! You made me google the nail... here's one thing I found https://www.realorrepro.com/article/...s-clues-to-age

I realize this article is about nails used for wood but thought there might be a connection.

Thanks Viv. Nice article with interesting facts and tidbits. I've seen nails from the 1100's, 1700's and 1800's, but nothing with a head this large. But the old ones I've seen were general construction, not for fine work like a jewelry box.

Metal detecting is fun when you find strange stuff, like on TV they'll know what something is but most of my things are left unknown.

This one is odd. I'm not sure the square nail thing is vintage as a square nail or if being square had a function like if 2 parts were connected there they can't swivel like they would without a square fastener. They used it like a rivet, flattened on the tip. Interesting. It does seem ornate like a jewel box hinge could be.

Some odd stuff I find seem like strange shoe parts, belt parts or even bridal (horse) stuff.

My area of Florida is where the Spanish Plate fleet of 1715 went down. I believe the count was 9 out of 11 ships sank, spread out over 20-25 miles along the coast.
I thought it was neat that the nail for fastening it to the box(?) was still attached to the hinge. I know a couple of people in the diving industry that I will try to get input from, but this is pretty specialized to furniture and not damaged by salt water immersion.

[makecents]

That's a neat find Cliff! I would agree on the bronze because of the porous look on the back of the hinge. I like the timeline Viv found on the nails too. If that is the case here, it predates 1800.

[GrumpyEd]

My area of Florida is where the Spanish Plate fleet of 1715 went down. I believe the count was 9 out of 11 ships sank, spread out over 20-25 miles along the coast.

That makes for some fun hunting.
I remember when Mel Fisher found the Atocha, there must be some others that haven't been found.
I saw some silver bars from it for sale it decades ago, they looked like loaves of bread.

[jfines69]

That is a cool find... By the size of the hinge and length of the nail I would think a personal jewelry box??? The nail and hinge both look like bronze and the nail looks to be pre 1800??? You never know - That could very well be from one of the Spanish ships???

[Petespockets55]

I also noticed the metal displacement from friction in some of the images. Wear and tear from being opened and closed.

I went back to the same area looking for more of it, but nothing there.

We have actually had people walking the beach looking for beach glass and have found emeralds. They don't get metal detected of course so some lucky lady had quite a story about her new necklace or earrings if she kept them.

[jfines69]

I also noticed the metal displacement from friction in some of the images. Wear and tear from being opened and closed.

I went back to the same area looking for more of it, but nothing there.

We have actually had people walking the beach looking for beach glass and have found emeralds. They don't get metal detected of course so some lucky lady had quite a story about her new necklace or earrings if she kept them.

Here about 10 years ago my daughter was on the beach doing some clean up work... She found a strange looking object and brought it over to see if I knew what it was... Turns out it was almost a quarter ounce of melted gold stuck to what looked like a piece of burnt wood and a clear piece of what looked like glass to me... A very cool find!!!

[Petespockets55]

Gold is always a great find.
Bet she did a gold dance when she realized what she had.
Ed, that Atocha find took a long time and I heard one story of a fisherman lamenting the loss of his "honey hole" of a reef which was the Atocha. Can't remember the exact dimensions of the silver reef, but something like 50' long by 15-20' tall. A massive amount of silver.