US buckle.. is it real ?

[NHBandit]

Posted this in the Civil War forum a few days ago but I guess nobody reads that. Just looking to see what the experts think. From the online research I've done it looks pretty good to me. http://forum.treasurenet.com/index.php/topic,372155.msg2642457.html#msg2642457

 

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[DCMatt]

It looks good to me, but I'm no expert. Hopefully others will chime in with opinions.

DCMatt

 

[BuckleBoy]

The buckle looks correct. The belt is obviously not an original one.

Cheers,


Buckles

 

[NHBandit]

The buckle looks correct. The belt is obviously not an original one.

Cheers,


Buckles

Thanks a bunch. I resepect your opinion as one of the guys on here who really knows his stuff. Can you tell me what you see that indicates the belt is not original ? Is it the square holes where it attatches to the buckle or did they just never survive 150 years ? The leather appears to be VERY old. Thanks and HH.

 

[Monty]

In the ground the belt would never have survived that long. If it was found in an attic somewhere, maybe? I can only see a part of the buckle in the photo I pulled up. I think you will have to take it off the belt and show some better pics. Monty

 

[NHBandit]

Monte it wasn't ever in the ground. I bought it at an estate auction. I thought I made that clear but if not I apologise. Thanks.

 

[Monty]

Then I suppose it is possible. I once saw a complete CW uniform on a dummy in an attic of an old man. By old I mean older than me! He was in his 90s. It belonged to one of his relatives. Me and a buddy were trying to buy it when the house burned and it was lost. I don't know whether it's my computer or what , but I couldn't see enough of it to guess. But I am no expert anyway, so I hope it is original. Monty

 

[nova treasure]

The buckle looks original in the pic to me, does the belt have a makers mark on it?
There is a couple of original US belt rigs on this link. http://www.midtenrelics.com/buckles.htm

Nova Treasure

 

[BuckleBoy]

The buckle looks correct. The belt is obviously not an original one.

Cheers,


Buckles

Thanks a bunch. I resepect your opinion as one of the guys on here who really knows his stuff. Can you tell me what you see that indicates the belt is not original ? Is it the square holes where it attatches to the buckle or did they just never survive 150 years ? The leather appears to be VERY old. Thanks and HH.

The original belts that I have seen were all double stitched close to, and parallel to the edges for increased durability. They were all also more distressed than this one (most of the surviving belts were taken good care of, so this doesn't have the look of 150-year-old leather. It seems old, but probably no more than 100 years to me). Now, I can't hold the item, so I'm only talking about what I see from the pictures. Another factor is the holes (or in this case, the lack of holes). I have frequently seen belts with two places for the tongue to be inserted (so that the buckle could be attached to either side), and sometimes belts that had extra holes for the tongue added at a later date so that the belt could continue to be worn. This belt doesn't have those other signs--which wouldn't make or break it as that age--but the big one in my mind is the lack of double stitching. You'll see this feature if you google search for original belts on CW plates, I feel certain.

Best Wishes,


BB

 

[NHBandit]

Thanks for all the help guys. I looked hard to find a makers mark on the belt and don't see anything but I'm going with the asumption that the belt isn't original anyway. From the prices I've seen online for buckles I'm happy with an original buckle and a repro belt.