Posted 14 years ago
t8rst8r
(1 item)
This is a very rare, handmade and engraved silver half-moon bit. It belonged to my Step-Father, who was an old cowboy from Nebraska. When he passed, he left it to me.
My mother said that the bit had belonged to his father, so the bit is very old - I guess it might be from the mid to late 1800's (my step-father was born in 1920). I don't know if my Grandfather made the bit or if he got it from someone else. There are no maker marks that I can see - the bit has heavy patina on it.
It is made of sweet iron with silver overlay that has been hand engraved. The port had been removed somewhere along the way leaving it as a straight bit. It is a pretty cool bit. If anyone has any idea of it's value or might know where it might have come from, please let me know.
It is a cool bit - if only it could talk! For some reason, the images don't show up, but if you click on the space, it will pop-up a larger image that you can see. Anyone know what the problem might be?
It looks like a typical California style bit from mid to late 1800's. Your best bet for identifying the maker is to check ebay periodically for one with the same engravings and frame rivets that's been attributed to a maker.
Good luck, very nice piece of western history.
Thank you for your lead, I was actually purusing some western collectible websites and saw a bit made by Crockett that had a similar engraving design. Any idea where Crockett bits are from? I had a buckaroo tell me it looked like a Great Basin area bit which would agree with the California style. Do you know if I should have a port put back on or should I leave it the way it is?