U
umrgolf
Guest
(found out this buckle is a rarity 8, meaning there are 16-30 known)
I have always wanted to dig a CS buckle of any type, and today I was able to cross it off the list!!
I hadn't been out in a couple weeks so I decided to head out this morning for a few hours. I went back to the spot where I found the 1851 Officer's sword belt buckle and sabre guard last month, and not 10 minutes into today's hunt, I found a pulltab LOL. And then, two feet away I scored the buckle. I immediately called a few buddies and was almost so excited I couldn't speak.
Honest to God, when I first dug it I thought it said "08"... I had never seen this style buckle so I knocked off a little dirt off and when I realized what I was looking at, I was absolutely floored. In my area there was VERY LITTLE confederate activity so this is a very significant find. I would almost have to believe this was a battlefield pickup that was carried back by a Union soldier. Unfortunately the loop broke into 2 pieces as I was pulling it from the rock hard dirt. I will be sending it off to get repaired next week!
The buckle was identified by my good friend, Josh (Sentinel) as a LEECH & RIGDON CS tongue produced in Memphis, TN. Thanks for looking!
The last 2 photos are General Nathan Bedford Forrest wearing a tongue and wreath buckle made by the same company
*buckle was selected for W&E Treasures annual best finds
I have always wanted to dig a CS buckle of any type, and today I was able to cross it off the list!!
I hadn't been out in a couple weeks so I decided to head out this morning for a few hours. I went back to the spot where I found the 1851 Officer's sword belt buckle and sabre guard last month, and not 10 minutes into today's hunt, I found a pulltab LOL. And then, two feet away I scored the buckle. I immediately called a few buddies and was almost so excited I couldn't speak.
Honest to God, when I first dug it I thought it said "08"... I had never seen this style buckle so I knocked off a little dirt off and when I realized what I was looking at, I was absolutely floored. In my area there was VERY LITTLE confederate activity so this is a very significant find. I would almost have to believe this was a battlefield pickup that was carried back by a Union soldier. Unfortunately the loop broke into 2 pieces as I was pulling it from the rock hard dirt. I will be sending it off to get repaired next week!
The buckle was identified by my good friend, Josh (Sentinel) as a LEECH & RIGDON CS tongue produced in Memphis, TN. Thanks for looking!
The last 2 photos are General Nathan Bedford Forrest wearing a tongue and wreath buckle made by the same company
*buckle was selected for W&E Treasures annual best finds
Attachments
Last edited:
Upvote
25
oh well, what can you do.. Thanks to all for replies and banners
When I was chiseling the hole, all I saw was the disc upside down and thought it may be a large cent. I reached down to pull it out like any other circular piece of brass not knowing what it was. The loop was hidden in the side of the plug.. when I pulled it out the loop stayed in the hole 
If you've ever held this variant of the L & R, you'll see its about as thick as a toothpick on that side. 
find.
