Baffling Belt Buckle

[Georgivs]

OK another one from my dad's woods. Back says "Hamlin Co Greensboro NC"

What does the front say? What does it mean? Is that a lower case ornate gothic font "a" or maybe a "d"? Who does that!? This ones been in my drawer for a few years and I've never been able to conclusively answer any of these questions. Please help me get some peace of mind!



Thanks for looking!

 

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[DizzyDigger]

Hamlin Casting has been around over 100 years, and they
made many custom belt buckles over the years. Likely they
were contracted to produce that buckle.

No idea what it says...

 

[nhbenz]

These were known as “college buckles”, from around 1900-1925, as described here: http://www.treasurenet.com/forums/what/392059-f-h-s-buckle.html
I’m fairly sure yours is upside-down, and possibly reads PCSC. Note the usual orientation of the letters relative to the loop from the one in the thread above (also found in Georgia):

 

[worldtalker]

OK another one from my dad's woods. Back says "Hamlin Co Greensboro NC"

What does the front say? What does it mean? Is that a lower case ornate gothic font "a" or maybe a "d"? Who does that!? This ones been in my drawer for a few years and I've never been able to conclusively answer any of these questions. Please help me get some peace of mind!

View attachment 1816124 View attachment 1816125

Thanks for looking!

I see dsda.

 

[desertexplorer]

I think nhbenz may be correct on the orientation. The loop on the “S” and the “D” should be at the bottom and the “a” should be upper case (according to the Gothic scripts I looked at).

 

[Georgivs]

I think nhbenz may be correct on the orientation. The loop on the “S” and the “D” should be at the bottom and the “a” should be upper case (according to the Gothic scripts I looked at). View attachment 1816164 View attachment 1816165

I think you and nhbenz might be right, I couldn't find the exact font but what you found is the closest I've seen. It just doesn't make sense to have a lower case ornate gothic font.

 

[HuntinDog]

They're not lower case... they are squished together to fit on the buckle.
If you remember where you found it, maybe look for colleges, fraternies, city organizations that sort of thing with PCSC in their title.

 

[worldtalker]

I see dsda.

I read that backwards too.

 

[CRUSADER]

DSD?

 

[TheCannonballGuy]

The buckle is upside-down in the first photos... and therefore the letters are PCSC. Being what the book "American Military Belt Plates" calls a college (or school) buckle, the final letter C probably stands for College... and the SC might be State College.

 

[nhbenz]

I’d almost mentioned the same probability about the second C being college, but thought it might be South Carolina as well.... Presbyterian College, South Carolina ? The example below isn’t a match, but maybe something?