Good idea with the university. I took an interest in your find because a few years ago I found half of a sash buckle too. (if you go to my profile under "threads started by Troller" ...Titled -A Little Help Here-), I have pictures of the one I found. I was told by a knowledgeable friend that " it's a sash buckle, pre-dates Civil War... possibly Rev. War and most likely military". And if I can find a match for the Fleur de Lis, it will tell me more about it. Also showed it to an archeologist doing a local dig at a home of a signer of Declaration of Independence. He said "without a doubt... 18th century" and to take it to Valley Forge or West Point military museums and they will ID it... which I haven't done yet. But if you look at the patina on your piece and compare it to the patina on mine, they look similar in age. And another dang Fleur de Lis. [emoji38] That's a real old buckle you found and it's nice because it looks complete. Good luck on getting a more positive ID on it and post what you find out. I'm still trying to find a match for my quite unique Fleur de Lis pattern. Man, if these things could talk what a story they could tell.
To me it looks like a sash buckle of some sort. Also, judging by the patina, IMHO it pre-dates the Girl Scouts. I'd be pretty happy with that find. Congrats.
