US Cartridge Box Plate - Marked "Hunter" - Published

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Item: US Cartridge Box Plate - Marked "Hunter" - Published
Construction: Stamped thin sheet brass with solder fill and iron wire loops.
Condition: Good, excavated, attachment loops missing. Its brass front, with the raised letters "US", has an underlying chocolate-brown patina which is partially covered with a thin layer soil. There is a mild inward bend in the body of the plate. The rear has a near complete complement of stable solder with the mark of "HUNTER" clearly stamped into it. The plate has no cracks or repairs.
Recovered: Sperryville, VA.  
Approximate size: 57 x 88 mm.

Reference: Similar examples of this cartridge box plate, marked "HUNTER", are pictured in:

  • "American Military Belt Plates" by Michael J. O'Donnell and J. Duncan Campbell, on page 301, plate 482.
  • "Civil War Artifacts" by Howard Crouch, page 188, item 2 (same example pictured as above).
  • "Field Guide to Excavated Federal Plates" by Daniel J. Peters on page 49.

See above page in additional images.

Comments:  Plates recovered with the "HUNTER" stamp are very rare. In my many years of handling plates in general, I have come across fewer than five examples with the "HUNTER" mark, all excavated examples. While it is widely believed that this mark is only found on US cartridge box plates, I have come across one US buckle with the "HUNTER" stamp. 

As mentioned above under the reference section, a similar example of this cartridge box plate is pictured in the second edition of O'Donnell and Campbell's "American Military Belt Plates", on page 301, as plate 482. The authors write: "Little is known about this firm. Its name has been noted on a few excavated cartridge box plates. The letter-style appears to date to 1861 or earlier."

The plate was recovered by local Virginia digger John Blue and was published in Volume XXVI, Number 5 of the North South Trader's Civil War magazine under the "Field Recoveries" section on page 17. See this page in the additional images. A copy of the magazine will be included with the purchase.

This is an excellent opportunity to add a very difficult to recover "HUNTER" marked US cartridge box plate to any Civil War accoutrement plate or general relic collection. 

Product Code:
PC467

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