_USNM 60252-M (S-K 10). Figure 120._
[Illustration: FIGURE 120]
The diamond-shaped plate was in vogue with Militia units during the
late 1820's and the 1830's. Examples of such plates for the Washington
Grays (Philadelphia) and the Philadelphia Grays are recorded in _U.S.
Military Magazine_.[105] This brass plate, possibly made for a
particular unit from stock dies, is a typical example of the endless
variety possible with the use of a few dies. The blank was struck with
a die for the center device of eagle and horn, but the irregularity of
the spacing of the stars shows that they were added later by hand.
Similar plates may be found with essentially this same device, but
placed on small shields or backgrounds of other shapes.
[Footnote 105: April 1839, pl. 5; June 1839, pl. 11.]