a dream hunt in NC

[csa-digger]

went on a hunt today, first one in about a year, with bobby to and old spot started off with finding a bullet and about 20 yards from that, a dream came true, started in a washout i got a good signal and told bobby and he started over the next thing i know about 10 to 12in deep i pulled out a belt plate, i started to shake and then bobby took it out my hands and started to clean it off then started yelling its an NC plate i started to shake more then and i had to just sit there about an hour i dont know if i have ever been that excited on a hunt before.

 

[Jaygee Western MA]

what other evidence can you present to support your opinion, and how can you tell the differences

 

[cwdigger]

what other evidence can you present to support your opinion, and how can you tell the differences

I to agree, I am glad that he found it but its not a real buckle. The hooks on the back are wrong for one and a big concern, even for a cast buckle of that style. Two its not lead filled to where all NC plates were manufactured with lead backs like the US Plates. The cuts bring some suspision,if the plate was left in a field for 150 years since the battle it would have been bent up more than it is. The biggest concern that I think everyone has is the brass "gilt" showing through and these buckles where NOT gilted, they were plain brass, and this plate has the lack of ground oxidation. The usual suspect to fakes are cuts in the buckles and removal of attachment hooks, this has both present. The cuts did not come from a plow as they look to be done with a knife or tool. There is also evidence of burning on the edges and backside of the plate, again usual suspects for producing a fake dug plate.

I did not see him dig this plate but I heard that he did in deed dig it, my opinion on how it got there was someone say 10+ years ago wanted to play a dirty trick on someone and finally suceeded. Or it was a reenactors plate that was dropped many years ago. I hate it that he found a repro but, that is 100% what this one is.

 

[rogues71]

gratz on the plate

 

[Jaygee Western MA]

Thanks CW for making a better point, the cut marks do not seem natural, but who knows, you guys in CW country, are truely blessed and have a more pointed interest in these matters which in turn increases your expertise, I think your explanation makes sense.

 

[fyrffytr1]

I don't know squat about buckles. I do have a book that shows this picture and gives dimensions and weight. It does look like the mounts on the back are not the same as the one found. But, like I say, I don't know!

 

[Gonehunting]

man i'm new to the cw relic hunting and i tried to do some researching on this plate. I couldn't find very many pics of it. Congrates. Thanks for posting. GH

 

[dragon6banger]

i was the one who witnessed it come out of the ground and i know he did not put it there and still wish i found it. i have heard all those people say it is a fake i am not sure that it is a fake i know these people have more time with relics than i do but one has to wonder if this article posted here That i have quoted from is real then i states that the material used to produce NC plates was brass not brass and lead.then there's the question of other site's of well known hunters that have the same plates that are solid brass that everyone Say's is real so who is telling the truth.we have all seen stuff come out of the ground so beat up that it was unidentifiable and then someone else dig something that looked as if it was just put or dropped there.this plate was dug from the bottom of a washout to a ditch that was about feet deep the plate was another 5 or 6 inches. so my question would be who would have went to all that trouble of hidding a fake plate 2 1/2 foot in the ground....this is just my 2 cents.

I don't know squat about buckles. I do have a book that shows this picture and gives dimensions and weight. It does look like the mounts on the back are not the same as the one found. But, like I say, I don't know!

 

[Ryanneas]

Simply put, that plate was probably created within the past five years. Anyone with a basic knowledge of period accoutrement plates knows that it is a faked reproduction. As I stated in the past, this fact does not mean that the digger knew this when he dug it. For the hardheads that still refuse to believe it is a fake, contact Gary Williams with Hanover Brass who is a legit expert on this topic and has been reproducing plates for 40 years.

 

[Company F]

A very nice find! Congrats.

 

[Poptopagain]

Amazing! Now go back and get another one!

 

[Greg Sorrell]

I am sure you were excited but it is indeed a fake. Again most likely someone was playing a joke on a friend and forgot where he put it.

 

[Dman]

Sweet buckle
Congrats

 

[NC Iron Man]

Congrats! Fake or not it must have been exciting.

 

[jrsherman]

I am shocked and dismayed.

 

[Tank69]

kinda funny the 2 people that are screamin fake here have less than 5 posts on the site ....hmmmmmmmmm gotta watch them newbies.

 

[Bikerboyzx6r]

kinda funny the 2 people that are screamin fake here have less than 5 posts on the site ....hmmmmmmmmm gotta watch them newbies.

Hi, Im not a Newbie Newbie but.... I collect German Belt Buckles from WW2 and know alot about items like this. The Hardware (Reverse fittings) tell a person 99% about the item. This plate does not look correct in my opinion, sorry.
If you look at how the plate has been knicked around the edges un-naturally & the face scratched up to encourage rust/ageing.
This is my opinion & come across this finish everyday on WW2 plates.

Best regards
Dan

 

[jrsherman]

All I can say is that someone who hunted with the person told me the truth, and that is why I am shocked and dismayed. As I understand T-Nets policy, the post and the items legitimacy cannot be challenged, so only the finder can come forward and come clean to a moderator. If that's not enough said, then feel free to remove my post.

 

[NHBandit]

The silence is deafening... Any new info on this ?

 

[umrgolf]

All I can say is that someone who hunted with the person told me the truth, and that is why I am shocked and dismayed. As I understand T-Nets policy, the post and the items legitimacy cannot be challenged, so only the finder can come forward and come clean to a moderator. If that's not enough said, then feel free to remove my post.

You see, the difference between what you are saying and what actually took place here is simple and the reason that the thread with all these replies still exists. Challenging an item's legitimacy, like has happened in the past, were challenges against whether or not people were actually digging the items they were posting. Just because someone told you what you believe to be the truth doesn't make the plate any less fake Josh. How can anyone look at the spacing of the hooks on the back compared to the legit plate from the book and possibly think this plate is real? Nothing personal with you, just a matter of looking at two pictures.

 

[jrsherman]

All I can say is that someone who hunted with the person told me the truth, and that is why I am shocked and dismayed. As I understand T-Nets policy, the post and the items legitimacy cannot be challenged, so only the finder can come forward and come clean to a moderator. If that's not enough said, then feel free to remove my post.

You see, the difference between what you are saying and what actually took place here is simple and the reason that the thread with all these replies still exists. Challenging an item's legitimacy, like has happened in the past, were challenges against whether or not people were actually digging the items they were posting. Just because someone told you what you believe to be the truth doesn't make the plate any less fake Josh. How can anyone look at the spacing of the hooks on the back compared to the legit plate from the book and possibly think this plate is real? Nothing personal with you, just a matter of looking at two pictures.

I don't feel that I need to respond to this, but the OP is who came clean to the people I talked to. If he wants to leave this up, that seems to be his own prerogative.

I had hunted the exact same field, and knew many stories, some being straight from the mouths of the finders, of things that came from this field. I knew there was a chance, as same as the people I hunted with in it knew. The possibilities of it being where it was found, though, were extremely extraordinary, not to say that things like that haven't happened before. As SWR says, "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary proof."

As to the matter of the hooks, there are people who have dedicated their lives to the minor variances in plate manufacture. Obviously I'm not one of them, I never claimed it in any of my posts, nor did I mention the construction of the plate as a challenge to its authenticity. I only know the information that I DO know.

Mods, you gotta do what you gotta do, but honesty and fairness to the general public, and especially the relic hunting community, are more important to me than whether or not my comments stay up.