*Silver Plated RARE Antique 1850s Pre Civil War Military Dragoon Curb Bridle Bit

Description

This is a very nice circa 1850s Military Dragoon bit that still has some of it's original silver plating.
These pre Civil War made bits are quite rare and then it is even harder to find one that is in this good of a condition.
The exterior sides of the bit have the remnants of a silver plating. I did polish the silver for this ad, but before I polished the silver plating it had been so heavily tarnished that it had actually been totally black in color. In the ad's picture gallery I have included some pictures of the bit that were taken before I polished the plating and you can see just how black the plating had been. (Pictures #9 through #11 show just how black the plating was prior to it being polished).
There is also a small piece of plating left on one of the upper rein rings and you can see the small piece in picture #1. There are also a couple of tiny pieces of plating left on the slobber bar and if you zoom in on picture #4 I think that you can see them.
I have read that these early pre Civil War Military bits were plated with brass, if they were plated at all. I have not yet found where it mentions an early bit such as this being plated with silver, so I do believe this pre-Civil War Dragoon bit to be quite rare.
I am wondering if this bit might be from the later years of the Mexican - American War (1846-1848), as in the past I have had many, many South Texas and Mexican Spanish styled bits and spurs that had also been decorated with the same thin silver plating that had also been totally black in color prior to being polished. Silver plating seems to have been quite popular in those areas during those years.
In the picture gallery I have included a picture of a page out of Dorsey and McPheeters book titled "Amercian Military Saddle, 1776-1945" and they show a picture of a c.1850s Dragoon bit that looks just like the one in this ad.
Each side of the bit measure appr. 7 5/8" long and these side measurements do not include the lower slobber bar
(There are 12 pictures in all in the ad's picture gallery and the zoom feature is available. Also if you click on the main picture you will enlarge it and then larger images of all of the other pictures can be seen as well.)
This item is being sold "no returns" and I will gladly send to anyone any additional pictures that they might like. I would also be happy to answer any questions.
Bidders from the lower 48 states only please and payment would be appreciated with-in 3 days after the auction ends. Thank-you.