I Found a Weird Object Buried in My Montana Yard. Do You Know What It Is?

I live in an old, Missoula house.

The house was built in the 1950s and only had two owners before I moved in. We've made some interesting discoveries. The house came with many of the original appliances, and I had no idea that stoves used to have buttons instead of knobs. I almost set myself on fire twice. We found hardwood floors under the carpet. The house came with a piano that I turned into a planter. It's been fun getting to know the house's idiosyncracies.

This past weekend I was doing some work in the yard and digging in the dirt when my shovel hit metal. This is what I pulled out.

It looked like a protective plate of some kind and I asked my husband what he thought it was. He had no idea.

READ MORE: I Bought an Old House in Missoula. It's My First Time Renovating

The two circles on either side look to be about the size for a screw, but the hole in the center is pretty big.

Here's a picture of the metal plate next to a quarter to get a sense of scale.

Like I said, the house came with a lot of the original appliances and we actually still have the box on an inside wall for the original doorbell (or at least one from a long time ago). We wondered if maybe this was the cover for the doorbell on the outside of the house. A friend of mine guessed that maybe it was a doorknob cover.

So, I'm looking for insight. Have you seen anything like this or do you know what it is? Put your ideas in the comments or message us on the app.