_USNM 604123 (S-K 279). Figure 185._
[Illustration: FIGURE 185]
This plate, struck in copper, contains the basic devices of the State
of Maine seal enclosed by a curled ribbon border embellished with
5-pointed stars. The specimen is more square than rectangular, a
characteristic of waist-belt plates of the early 1800's. It was
probably worn by Maine Militia no later than the 1820's, possibly a
few years earlier. The method of attachment also is indicative of this
early period: the heavy vertical wire is brazed to one end of the
reverse, and the L-shaped tongue to the other. This plate obviously
was a stock pattern.