Is this a vintage 'feeler guage'? If not, has anyone seen one and know what it is?

I have permission to detect the old house where General Ulysses Grant stayed when he invaded our town. He had a tent set up outside the house where he looked at maps and talked with his underlings and so forth. The home was a cotton plantation sort of affair and it is right beside where old steam paddleboats would bring and take away cargo for our town on the TN River. The owners of this house (come to find out) are kin to me and one was my Homeroom teacher while I was in grade school (back in the late sixties). Anyway......I found this odd piece. Has anyone seen anything like it? It's edges are made of very rusty steel. It appears that there is copper or brass 'things' in the center. It doesn't really matter if it's Civil War related or not. But curiosity is making me search everywhere for an answer to this puzzle. My search begins here. Then, I will start searching in other avenues. It's about as long as a Swiss army knife. It's heavy. Here are some pics that I just made. I laid a quarter down beside it for size-reference.




I was likely TOO thorough with the pics-taking. As a side note: The metal between the iron is green if it doesn't show up in the pics on your screen. Thanks guys. Happy searching. kevin

I really have no clue but if I am looking correctly it almost looks like a small box made of iron maybe rounded on back with a slide off cover made of brass maybe or copper. It it is a iron box with brass or copper cover that would slide up wonder what they would carry (flints maybe)

Bryanna - Nebraska

Current - New to me but not new MXT Pro and T2 SE2 - Previous Minelab Sovereign GT, Minelab Safari, Whites DFX, Whites Eagle Spectrum
Smile its a good for you!

It's kind of too short and wide for a feeler gauge? Plus the gauges would be thicker on one side and they all look about the same.... Not sure?

Kenny
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Well, come to find out .......those look like copper wires. I am starting to think that this piece was out of an old telephone or maybe an old transformer or capacitor or something. I just thought that the center......green stuff (and everytime I dig something green...I automatically think.....VINTAGE!) was blades but now that I look at it closer I think that it's just wire windings.
But there is one thing that I AM sure of........I fully appreciate the replies!!!!! I love this Forum. We go through our ups and downs.....but we always end up posting to one another. And I'm proud to say that I have made some close friends on here. My only regret......is that we cannot all have a rendezvous and have a good old fashioned hunt together......complete with a bar-b-que.......and Sprite. And other beverages for those who can handle them. I can no longer allow myself the hard beverages. I don't know when to stop until I am passed out....drooling all over myself! LOL!!!!!! Happy and DEEP Detecting to all...........Kevin

I also first thought could be an old carbon battery split up...I 'm leaning on it being a capacitor, is the inside maybe mica?

guvmore Wrote:
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> I also first thought could be an old carbon
> battery split up...I 'm leaning on it being a
> capacitor, is the inside maybe mica?

+2

Is it too large to be the base of a telegraph key
They had windings in the base

Am pretty sure - lets go 100% it is not a capacitor. Could be coil but very odd one if it is. Copper windings equal coil or transformer - metal plates with spacing capacitor. Two conductors separated by a dielectric material (non conductor) = capacitor. It is a puzzler for sure.

Bryanna - Nebraska

Current - New to me but not new MXT Pro and T2 SE2 - Previous Minelab Sovereign GT, Minelab Safari, Whites DFX, Whites Eagle Spectrum
Smile its a good for you!

Looks like a RF coil of sorts...maybe 1920s..

Keith

“I don't care that they stole my idea . . I care that they don't have any of their own”
-Nikola Tesla

My money is on RF coil.