5/12/24 Report - Coats of Arms and Heraldry: History and Parts of Shield. New Mystery Object Find.

Written by the TreasureGuide for the exclusive use of the Treasure Beaches Report.

Gold and Enamel Family Coat of Arms.

I found the gold and enameled family shield years ago while metal detecting Key Biscayne.  It is about an inch high.  I did some research on it at the time, but back then I didn't know a lot about such things.  The shield features a griffon, which in mythology is said to guard treasure.

There are companies that if you send them your surname and some money, they'll send you a plaque or picture with your family coat of arms.  I recently learned that those are little more than false pride and have no real formal depth in history.  Still, they can be fun and have some actual value by stimulating family pride and interest in genealogy. 

As the use of armor faded as a technological innovation across Europe, the need for arms became more ceremonial. In fact, it became genealogical.

This is where armory and heraldry fused.

The English College of Arms strictly regulates who can be granted arms and under what conditions.

In fact, one must petition and be granted the right to use a coat of arms formally...

The same article explains the factual origin of heraldry and coasts of arms as follows.

Heraldry and the coat of arms for a surname... came out of the necessity for warriors to distinguish themselves from one another on the battlefield.

... in the Middle Ages the kings and their warrior knights developed a system of emblazoning symbols and patterns on their shields, banners, armor, tunics and surcoats.

A surcoat is a loose outer garment or robe worn over armor and is central to the development of coats of arms. The literal first ‘coats of arms’ were actual coats!...

NO: you are not allowed to use a registered Coat of Arms (COA) if you yourself have not been personally and formally granted permission to do so by the College of Arms.

Arms are granted to individuals, not families. A COA is passed down like a family heirloom within a geneocentric family...

Various Parts of Coasts of Arms.
Source: See familyhistoryfoundation link below.

Below is the source link which I think you will enjoy.

Can I Use A Coat of Arms For My Surname? A: YES and NO! (familyhistoryfoundation.com)

I also recommend the voluminous work by A. C. Fox-Davies, “A Complete Guide to Heraldry,” which you can find by using the following link.

A complete guide to heraldry : Fox-Davies, Arthur Charles, 1871-1928 : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive

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Friday I caught a nice low tide.  The visibility was great too.  It seemed conditions were good enough that I decided to take a look when I had some time.  The tide wasn't as low as yesterday, but hoping the water visibility would still be very good, I decided to go out for a little hunt.  Below are a couple photos of an item I found. 

Two Views of New Saturday Find.

I think I know what the item is.  It is the first one of those I've ever found.  It is nothing really great but see if you know what it is.  Maybe I'm wrong, but I'll tell you what I think it is at the end of this post.

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One reader said he is pretty sure the little silver item from a couple of days ago is a toe ring.  As I said, yesterday, that is my best bet now.  One other reader suggested antique cuff link "band."

DJ said the scorpion-shaped iron mystery object I posted yesterday looked like it could possibly be a broken Ferrier tool.  I first thought it might be a tool, but I think that is mostly because of the wrench like part. Now I am thinking more in the line of broken hook or something like that.

Thanks to all.

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Now to the new mystery object shown above.  I'm pretty sure it is a trumpet mouthpiece.  It sure looks like those I've seen.  Agree?

After all these years, anytime I find an item I've never found before, it is surprising to me.  I've found seemingly everything, including an artificial leg with foot and shoe attahced.

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Good hunting,

Treasureguide@comcast.net