Dug a Civil War US belt plate!!!

[Squirrel322]

.....and it broke coming out of the ground
I managed to find 2 of the pieces and I scooped up 3 shopping bags full of dirt that I hope the last piece turns up in.

Anyway, I never imagined I would dig a belt plate. This area barely dates back that far.

Found it at the local trashy park in a small patch of dirt they cleared to pour a cement slab.

 

[Gene Mean]

Dude!

 

[creskol]

Hmm.. very cool plate, but the hooks don't look right to me.

 

[WaterScoop]

That’s what AWESOME looks like! Congratulations on an amazing discovery of American History!

 

[bologna321]

Dude!

BRO!

Nice man!

 

[cannonball]

Nice find!!! Congratulations

 

[WaterScoop]

Hmm.. very cool plate, but the hooks don't look right to me.

I’m slightly inclined to agree with you. This is how I know the hooks to be ...

 

[Digger RJ]

Awesome!!! Congrats!!!

 

[villagenut]

Looks good to me... I would be happy with it

 

[creskol]

Can you post a photo looking at it edgewise?

 

[Squirrel322]

Can you post a photo looking at it edgewise?

CW items are not something I know much about. However, looking around the internet it appears these are “arrow hooks”. I’m interested in what our resident experts opinions are.

 

[creskol]

It appears as though the solder (lead as it is commonly referred to) is higher than the edge of the brass. That is what they call lead overfill, which usually indicates that it is a reproduction. Additionally, the arrow hooks do not appear to be beveled, another indicator that it may be a reproduction. Take a look at this earlier thread where the CannonballGuy gives some great detailed information: http://www.treasurenet.com/forums/what/638201-civil-war-belt-buckle.html

 

[Squirrel322]

I’m not sure about the lead over fill. I think it might just look that way in the pics because buckle is so warped.

The hooks almost look like they have a tiny bevel but I don’t think that is how the bevel is on authentic ones. These do look stamped out...... :/

 

[Squirrel322]

Actually, that tiny bevel looks like the authentic example Cannonballguy posted

 

[Trezurehunter]

Looks like a great find Squirrel. I'd be happy with that one.

 

[Treasureman25]

 

[creskol]

Actually, that tiny bevel looks like the authentic example Cannonballguy posted

Cool .. I can see that in these photos.. definitely a good sign.

 

[FloodcityTom]

Its the real deal there were several different manufacturers during the war, several different types of backs includig the rare "puppy paws" ad the posts similar to the other photo example in this thread also that type Belt Buckle was used well into the 1870's during the "indian Wars". Over time, the weight of the ground pushes and distorts the plate much as yours is on the edges, it takes time to do that.

 

[Tommybuckets]

I would tend to agree that the condition alone makes me lean toward authentic. It takes a lot of time in the ground to degrade to that state.

 

[TheCannonballGuy]

Squirrel1322 wrote:
> Actually, that tiny bevel looks like the authentic example Cannonballguy posted.

Good-eye there, Squirrel. You are correct. I'm speaking up here because my good friend Creskol called for my analysis & opinion on your Oval US beltplate.

In my past reply about how to distinguish an original versus a reproduction Oval US beltplate, I said that almost all of the modern-era repros of these buckles have "arrowhead" belt-attachment hooks. So when we see that shape of hooks on a US Oval, it is wise to be concerned that it might be a modern repro. But your VERY good closeup photos show that the one you found definitely has the telltale "beveling" on what otherwise would be quite sharp edges of your plate's arrowhead hooks. That characteristic, plus the genuine old-age corrosion-related damage on the plate's thin rim, mean it is beyond doubt a civil war period original Oval US buckle.

Historical Trivia:
This "solder-filled" (that's actually not lead in its back) version of Oval US buckle was first adopted and produced for the US Army in the 1830s. From then into the first years of the civil war, these buckles had "stud" or "oval" belthooks. That form of hooks was dropped during the civil war, when the urgent need to manufacture vast quantities of this buckle arose, because the arrowhead hooks could be produced very quickly, and cheaply, by simply stamping the hooks as a SINGLE ITEM out of a piece of sheetbrass (like using a cookie-cutter). The photos below show that the stud/oval belthooks were composed of 6 pieces, which had to be riveted together by hand work. The arrowhead hooks are a simple single piece of sheetbrass, with the ends bent over to form the hook shape.