N.M.M.I. Belt Buckle- How old is This!!! Could not find it online anywhere!! 1800s??

[ryan714]

N.M.M.I. Belt Buckle- How old is This!!! Could not find it online anywhere!! 1800's??

Searched everywhere online for this exact buckle.. No where to be found.. They do have buckles but not this one. Any help would greatly be appreciated

 

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[mirage83]

I got nothing. You may end up needing to email NMMI and send them your pics, ask them when the cadet corp wore this style of buckle. Nothing on the net that I could find matches what you've found.

It's a nice find, will be interesting to know something of it's history.

 

[Argentium]

Do we assume that NMMI stands for New Mexico Military Institute ? Where did you find it ?

 

[ryan714]

Yes I will Call the Institute tomorrow and see what I can find out. I will keep you updated. And Yes it is New Mexico Military Institute...Found in an empty lot in Tucson..

 

[TheCannonballGuy]

Note that your belt-buckle's form is a much longer rectangle than is usually seen. That version is known as a College/School buckle. See page 523 in the book "American Military Belt Plates" for an example of that type (which says Georgia instead of NMMI like yours) and historical info about them. According to that book, they date from circa 1900 to 1925.
The book says:
"Popular style of early 20th Century school plate marketed by several firms. The 1916 North & Judd catalog (New Britain, Conn.) listed these as 'College buckles.' They offered to make up new designs with different school names at no extra cost provided a gross [144] or more were ordered. Thomas Parry & Sons advertised these as 'College Belt Buckles' in the same period."

 

[ryan714]

Thank you for the info. I will call tomorrow and see what they say..

Note that your belt-buckle's form is a much longer rectangle than is usually seen. That version is known as a College/School buckle. See page 523 in the book "American Military Belt Plates" for an example of that type (which says Georgia instead of NMMI like yours) and historical info about them. According to that book, they date from circa 1900 to 1925.
The book says:
"Popular style of early 20th Century school plate marketed by several firms. The 1916 North & Judd catalog (New Britain, Conn.) listed these as 'College buckles.' They offered to make up new designs with different school names at no extra cost provided a gross [144] or more were ordered. Thomas Parry & Sons advertised these as 'College Belt Buckles' in the same period."

 

[vpnavy]

Great find Ryan! Thanks for sharing...

 

[ronringo]

Let me know if you would be interested in selling this buckle?

ronringo@hotmail.com