Evans & Hassall Company Information - US Belt Plate

[screlichunter]

Hey Folks,

I recently came across a nice non-dug belt plate at a flea market ($8.00). It still has some nice gilt and has great patina on the back. I have been able to find some references to it on the web. The plate has "E & H." stamped in the ribbon under the eagle. This is indicative of the Evans & Hassall Company of Philadelphia. The general con-senses is that it is an Indian War Belt Plate. While I agree that the design is Indian War Like with the wide tongue. My question is that all research on the Evans & Hassall Company have them in business from 1859 - 1866. Does anyone have any more information about this company and this belt plate?


Thanks!

 

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[taz42o]

I think those are civil war era or a bit later.
But since the indian wars lasted from the 1600s to 1924 I guess they were used during the indain wars .

 

[Mackaydon]

I think you will find this thread interesting:
James boy's gunbelts - TheShootists.co.uk
Don.....

 

[TheCannonballGuy]

First... the primary difference between the civil war era version and the Model-1874 version isn't the width of the tongue-hook ...it the Model-1874's lack of a belt-loop on the end of the plate.

Now, about your flea market non-excavated Model-1874 US Army eagle sword-belt plate:
According to the book "American Military Belt Plates (by O'Donnell & Campbell), the Original (1859-1866) stamping-die which made the distinctive "E&H" marked plates is still being used today to manufacture Reproduction plates. That statement means the die was not scrapped when the Evans & Hassel company ended its operations in 1866.

Also according to the "American Military belt Plates" book, the Evans & Hassel die was used by a "successor" company sometime between 1874 and 1920 to manufacture Model-1874 plates ...because the Model-1974 version remained in service with the US Army until 1941.

I must also mention, your plate is an uncommon variation from most Model-1874 plates in that it is die-struck sheetbrass (the back has a reverse-image of the front) instead of being a thicker solid-cast metal plate (no reverse-image on the back). The "American Military Belt Plates" book shows a Model-1874 plate made with the old Evans & Hassel die (see page 543), but that one is solid-cast, not sheetbrass as yours is.

Edit-Update:
Mackaydon's post was made while I was typing mine, so I didn't see it until after I posted mine.

 

[screlichunter]

Cool, thanks for all the great information! That makes very much sense that the dies were not destroyed. So the replicas are actually cast brass. What does that really mean as far as my plate is concerned? Is the fact that it is an uncommon variation and stamped brass, good or bad news? Thanks again!


****pdated: Also, great information on Mackaydon's link ..... but is the value of mine really $395.00 as the link states, or is that an inflated retail price? Thanks again Guys!

 

[screlichunter]

Cool, thanks for all the great information! That makes very much sense that the dies were not destroyed. So the replicas are actually cast brass. What does that really mean as far as my plate is concerned? Is the fact that it is an uncommon variation and stamped brass, good or bad news? Thanks again!


****pdated: Also, great information on Mackaydon's link ..... but is the value of mine really $395.00 as the link states, or is that an inflated retail price? Thanks again Guys!

 

[TheCannonballGuy]

Screlichunter wrote:
> So the replicas are actually cast brass. What does that really mean as far as my plate is concerned?
> Is the fact that it is an uncommon variation and stamped brass, good or bad news? Thanks again!

It's good news in that your stamped-brass plate is highly unlikely to be a Reproduction of the Model-1874. (Those are made and sold today for use by Indian Wars era battle-reenactors ...as Mackaydon's link indicates.)

Most modernday Reproduction belt buckles & plates are solid-cast because it's much cheaper to cast them than to manufacture a complicated, highly-detailed die for stamping the emblem into the buckle.

That being said... the factor that really makes it HIGHLY unlikely to be a Reproduction is the fact that not just the wreath but also the 13 stars and ribbon on it are silverplated (in addition to the wreath). Individually silverplating that many components requires minutely-detailed, complicated, expensive work. It would cause the Repro to be too costly to compete with cheap-priced "simpler" Reproductions (like the solid-cast ones).

> Updated: Also, great information on Mackaydon's link ..... but is the value of mine really $395.00 as the link states, or is that an inflated retail price?

Besides being a digger & relic-collector, let me speak from being a dealer of Original and Reproduction 1800s-era relics. The dollar value of post-civil-war (1866 and later) military buckles & plates tends to be significantly less than civil war era ones. That's because there are thousands of civil war relic collectors, but only a comparative few collectors of Indian Wars era relics. The amount of "collector interest" is what sets the dollar value of any relic. My point is, a non-excavated ("non-dug") civil war era eagle swordbelt plate (with nickel-silver wreath) sells for $350 at best. Its Indian Wars era counterpart, the Model-!874 plate, sells for half that amount, at best ...because there just isn't nearly as much "collector interest" in them as there is for the civil war era ones.

 

[screlichunter]

Outstanding! Very informative with lots of back-up. I do appreciate all the help and speediness on the responses. It will look nice on the wall with some Indian war buttons and Shako Eagle hat plates. Thanks again!