I found an antique buckle.

[Conito@55]

The information I found says that this buckle belongs to a fraternity founded in 1864.

 

[iAmMike]

Wow, these are some interesting finds! Nicely done.

 

[E-Trac-Ohio]

Very nice finds - congrats !

 

[Oldrvrrat57]

Nice finds, what fraternity is the buckle attributed to?

 

[Conito@55]

Nice finds, what fraternity is the buckle attributed to?

The Knights of Pythias is a fraternal organization and secret society founded in Washington, D.C., on February 19, 1864. The Knights of Pythias was the first fraternal organization to receive a charter under an act of the United States Congress.

 

[Conito@55]

Very nice finds - congrats !

Thanks

 

[Conito@55]

Wow, these are some interesting finds! Nicely done.

Thank you

 

[Red-Coat]

The Knights of Pythias is a fraternal organization and secret society founded in Washington, D.C., on February 19, 1864. The Knights of Pythias was the first fraternal organization to receive a charter under an act of the United States Congress.

Neat find. Although the Knights of Pythias were founded in 1864, the ‘UR’ on your buckle is for ‘Uniform Rank’ which came into being in 1878 as a separate organization to the Knights, but attached to them. Rather more than a fraternity, they were also known as the “Army of the Lilly”, having chosen the Lilly as their emblem (as in the centre of your buckle) and organised along US army lines into Companies, Bridgades, Regiments, etc.

The UR had more than 100,000 members at its height, many of them veterans of the Civil War, but this dropped sharply after WWI as the number of veterans declined. It ceased to exist as an official auxiliary of the Knights around 1950.

 

[Conito@55]

Neat find. Although the Knights of Pythias were founded in 1864, the ‘UR’ on your buckle is for ‘Uniform Rank’ which came into being in 1878 as a separate organization to the Knights, but attached to them. Rather more than a fraternity, they were also known as the “Army of the Lilly”, having chosen the Lilly as their emblem (as in the centre of your buckle) and organised along US army lines into Companies, Bridgades, Regiments, etc.

The UR had more than 100,000 members at its height, many of them veterans of the Civil War, but this dropped sharply after WWI as the number of veterans declined. It ceased to exist as an official auxiliary of the Knights around 1950.

Thank you for the information. It's amazing when you find so much information about the object.

 

[Trezurehunter]

Very nice looking belt plate. Great find.

 

[oldmxrat]

Nice find my friend, congrats!
I found one of those along the Truckee river in 2021 at the place I took you to.

 

[Conito@55]

Nice find my friend, congrats!
I found one of those along the Truckee river in 2021 at the place I took you to.

Man, you and I are in a competition! 😅 I find something, and then you come along with the same thing, but better! 🤣 I like that!

 

[Digger RJ]

The information I found says that this buckle belongs to a fraternity founded in 1864.

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Very Cool!!! Congrats!!!

 

[Conito@55]

Very Cool!!! Congrats!!!

Thanks

 

[Silvermonkey]

The information I found says that this buckle belongs to a fraternity founded in 1864.

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That's a great looking buckle. Thanks for posting the info about the fraternal organization. Very interesting. Congrats!

 

[Conito@55]

That's a great looking buckle. Thanks for posting the info about the fraternal organization. Very interesting. Congrats!

Thanks