✅ SOLVED CW Eagle Belt Plate

[OutBack Duo]

As the title states, I know this is a Civil War Union Officers Sword Belt Plate but I want to know more about it. I don't have a book on Belt Plates and I have only found 1 picture online that resembles it and it was found listed as a Hanover Brass Reproduction of "General U.S. Grant" Sword Belt Plate 1861 - 1865.

Notice the wing tips are below the top corners of the plate, If you can find another example of this anywhere I would appreciate you letting me know.

How rare is this particular type of plate?

 

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[vhs07]

Can you post a picture of the back?

 

[OutBack Duo]

As the title states, I know this is a Civil War Union Officers Sword Belt Plate but I want to know more about it. I don't have a book on Belt Plates and I have only found 1 picture online that resembles it and it was found listed as a Hanover Brass Reproduction of "General U.S. Grant" Sword Belt Plate 1861 - 1865.

Notice the wing tips are below the top corners of the plate, If you can find another example of this anywhere I would appreciate you letting me know.

How rare is this particular type of plate?

I actually have a video of me finding this plate on my website, the link is below in my signature.

 

[TheCannonballGuy]

The coloring in your photo of the buckle's front is very strange. I can only assume that is due to the type of light being used when the photo was made. Please make other photos of the front, shot in "natural light." I'm asking because I can't be sure whether the buckle is gold-plated or not, AND whether the wreath on the front is an "applied" nickel-silver wreath, or whether it is a solid-cast wreath. The difference is important.

 

[OutBack Duo]

The coloring in your photo of the buckle's front is very strange. I can only assume that is due to the type of light being used when the photo was made. Please make other photos of the front, shot in "natural light." I'm asking because I can't be sure whether the buckle is gold-plated or not, AND whether the wreath on the front is an "applied" nickel-silver wreath, or whether it is a solid-cast wreath. The difference is important.

The pictures come out very strange, I will post all I have access to here at work but you will notice every picture is different. The wreath is solid cast with the plate.

 

[OutBack Duo]

Here are more pictures with flash and without flash.

 

[OutBack Duo]

Does anyone have any idea? What is a General U.S. Grant Sword Belt Plate?

 

[TheCannonballGuy]

Does anyone have any idea? What is a General U.S. Grant Sword Belt Plate?

It means the Hanover Brass company's sword belt plate is a reproduction of the EXACT variety of US Model-1851 sword belt plate worn by yankee army General Ulysses S. Grant. (I say "EXACT variety" because there are several dozen varieties of Model-1851 sword belt plate

I am still researching your specimen. It is ALMOST an exact match for Plate #658 and #659 in the book "American Military Belt Plates" by Michael J. O'Donnell and J. Duncan Campbell. But your plate has at least one major difference from those two plates in the book. Mr. O'Donnell is a close personal friend of mine, so I will phonecall him and ask him to take a look at the photos of your plate and tell me his opinion of it.

Meanwhile, please make some photos of your plate outdoors, in daylight. Perhaps that will resolve the issue of the very strange colors. In one of your photos, your plate looks silverplated, and in the other it looks goldplated.

 

[OutBack Duo]

Okay, I have taken 12 more pictures of it at 7:15am. It is a bright sunny day outside and I did it on a concrete table here at work. I didn't want to reduce the quality of the pictures so I have uploaded them to my site and they can be viewed at the following links:

http://www.mymdforum.com/6612/1.jpg
http://www.mymdforum.com/6612/2.jpg
http://www.mymdforum.com/6612/3.jpg
http://www.mymdforum.com/6612/4.jpg
http://www.mymdforum.com/6612/5.jpg
http://www.mymdforum.com/6612/6.jpg
http://www.mymdforum.com/6612/7.jpg
http://www.mymdforum.com/6612/8.jpg
http://www.mymdforum.com/6612/9.jpg
http://www.mymdforum.com/6612/10.jpg
http://www.mymdforum.com/6612/11.jpg
http://www.mymdforum.com/6612/12.jpg

These are 2Mb files (very large) but it should allow anyone who wants to view them to see the plate up close with great detail.

 

[TheCannonballGuy]

As promised, I phonecalled Mike O'Donnell, author of the massive book on civil war belt plates, and asked him to look at your photos. He told me your buckle's extremely "high-relief" and superbly detailed emblem means it was made in Britain during the civil war. At that time, British industry was the best in the world at doing ultra high quality metalwork. Of course, such supreme works, imported here across the Atlantic Ocean, were significantly more expensive than typical army-issue buckles. High-ranking and/or wealthy US (and Confederate) officers purchased the superb British-made buckles (and buttons), instead of being content with the regular-issue stuff. For example, the O'Donnell book's plates #658 and #659, which I said are the closest match for your buckle, were worn by an unknown US General, and by US General Ulysses S. Grant, respectively.

 

[OutBack Duo]

any idea how many were made and shipped over here? Any idea of a value?

 

[OutBack Duo]

As promised, I phonecalled Mike O'Donnell, author of the massive book on civil war belt plates, and asked him to look at your photos. He told me your buckle's extremely "high-relief" and superbly detailed emblem means it was made in Britain during the civil war. At that time, British industry was the best in the world at doing ultra high quality metalwork. Of course, such supreme works, imported here across the Atlantic Ocean, were significantly more expensive than typical army-issue buckles. High-ranking and/or wealthy US (and Confederate) officers purchased the superb British-made buckles (and buttons), instead of being content with the regular-issue stuff. For example, the O'Donnell book's plates #658 and #659, which I said are the closest match for your buckle, were worn by an unknown US General, and by US General Ulysses S. Grant, respectively.

Thanks for all your help in solving this one. If you happen across any other information please let me know.

 

[OutBack Duo]

If anyone is interested, there is an identical plate to this one on Ebay. It will be interesting to see how much it goes for. The ebay auction number is 140782066856. It has 5 bids on it already and there is still 4 days left in the auction.

 

[boarman1]

Thanks for sharing. I want to get it for my son. We will see.