What's in the curio?!

My goal this year is to keep this blog busy. In doing so, I am creating a new segment called "What's in the curio?". I'm sure most of the visitors to this blog will appreciate these "items". Over the past several years, I've made Gettysburg, Pennsylvania a second home and a must "go to" spot on my way from or to, the MFCA Show in Valley Forge. Having been to that town practically every year (sometimes twice a year) since I was a year old, I never had the means or really the urge, to collect artifacts. Now that I have a 'big boy' job, I've been making quick stops into the relic shop, 'The Horse Soldier' and only spending enough to give me a fix. With each trip, I'll pick up something small. Usually something rusted and dirt covered, with thick coats of some sort of varnish. And I only buy/deal with the 'The Horse Soldier', because they have a great selection and are reputable. Anyway, first up is an American Civil War era trigger guard for a rifled musket, supposedly picked dug up on the Spotsylvania Battlefield in 1975. I'm assuming this was dug before restrictions and laws against such doings;).