LOT 1386

Cased British Military 'Published' Artefact Collection

LATE 17TH-EARLY 19TH CENTURY A.D.

12 x 8 5/8 x 2 1/2 in. (1.36 kg total, case: 30.5 x 22 x 6.5 cm).

Comprising: breech and shoe, hat, belt ands stock/nap bronze buckles; clasps for pouches; a clay pipe; spare flint holders; a flint for musket; a flint for pistol; a bronze spur; military buttons for Royal Marine, Artillery, Coldstream and Dragoon Guards from 1795 to 1820; an officer’s whistle; a bayonet holder. [29, No Reserve]

From the collection of the famous author, writer and speaker, Gordon Bailey, Essex, UK; formed since 1968.

Bailey, G., Detector finds 7, Witham, 2011, figs.5, p.31 and 24, p.40 (nap buckle); 7, p.32 and 25, p.41 (musket flint); 9, p.32 and 27, p.41 (pistol flint); 10,12, p.32 and 2,28, pp.37,41 (spare flint lead holders); 14a-c, p.32 and 30, p.41 (clasp for pouch); 15a-c, p.33 (clasp for pouch); 17, p.33 and 32, p.42 (copper shoe buckle); 18a-c, p.33 and 33, p.42 (copper bayonet frog); 22a-c, p.34 and 36, p.42 (copper fastener with suspension loop); 23, p.34 and 35, p.42 (bronze belt buckle); 21, p.40 (Royal Artillery copper button). 22, p.40 (belt buckle 1800-1820).

Cf. Bailey, G., Detector finds 7, Witham, 2011, pp.31-42, for similar items.

Various military items have been recovered from the military sites of the Napoleonic Wars. Buttons are the most common items, made of copper, with some signs of gilding and silvering. Also small buckles are frequent finds, as well as musket balls and musket parts. These latter are rare because the individual soldiers were responsible for the care and maintenance of their fire-arms.