found a cow? in my garden

[debster]

digging merrily away in the garden I dug up this it looks like a cow and I would think due to the weight it is made of lead

[debster]

[manicscousers]

wow, strange  ;D
on halloween, our uncle used to heat lead up and drop it in a bath of cold water, we were all given a piece, all different shapes, as good luck charms for a year, never got a cow-shaped one  :)

[Mrs Ava]

cor!

[Deb P]

I was given a small lead swan many moons ago, I think it was used as a fishing weight....presume yours is a child's toy, would be banned now of course! :-\

[SnooziSuzi]

Wow! that's a really great find!  I only usually find broken bottles and rocks in mine  :'(

Does it bend if you flex it?  (don't try too hard!)  if it bends easily then it's likely to be lead - otherwise it could be pewter.

Keep it for the next time Antiques Roadshow is in town!

[debster]

yes does seem to bend quite easily on the legs so very likely lead

[selwyn-smith]

Is it really as bright as it looks in the photo, or has it got a sort of white verdigris? Lead usually keeps it's colour as it ages.  I work with stained glass, so I know a bit about lead, also my father  made and designed lead and then plastic model soldiers and farm animals ....... he developed a way of producing hollow cast lead models.
What I mean to say is......if it's not lead coloured but as heavy as lead, maybe it's something more valuable!

[debster]

it looks as though it was painted brown at one time but think the light is the reflection from my poor photography certainly heavy enough to be lead

[selwyn-smith]

Yes that looks more like lead. Can you see a makers name on the bottom, Britains?

[debster]

cant see anything underneath on the top of the platform it is stood on its too dirty to see

[Grandma]

Ooh! That takes me back, Debster!  :) When I was a nipper I had a wonderful toy farm - with loads of lead animals! (My brother had a fort with lead soldiers!)
How big is your cow though? If I remember correctly the bigger animals were around an inch high - yours looks much bigger than that.  ???

[debster]

the cow is about and inch and a half high and two and a half long