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| Nice Die Stamped Confederate Virginia State Seal Waist Belt Plate - Recovered Chancellorsville, VA., in the 1950s. |
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Here is a Nicely Detailed Stamped Brass Virginia State Seal Waist Belt Plate ! It’s the pattern believed to have been manufactured by James S. Smith & Sons/New York in 1860-1861. There is a non-dug example in Mullinax’s book, Confederate Belt Buckles & Plates, on page 233, plate number 431, that is so marked on the tongue, though Mullinax notes that some have unmarked tongues. This one was part of a small collection of belt plates I bought at auction recently, all of which were early [1950s] recoveries. There were two US sword belt plates, a beautiful Baby Forked Tongue buckle, and a rectangular shoulder belt plate, most marked on the reverse with Location/date. This Virginia Plate has a wonderful smooth brown/green patina highlighting the details of the device nicely. Reverse shows same patina with a little more ground action and some dirt still in the low areas. Visible from both sides is damage to both upper and lower left corners, consistent with heat or melt damage. Tongue and belt bar are missing from reverse as is common with these plates. I wondered about the “melted” corners since the entire plate doesn’t have the look you often see in “fire pit” recovered plates. Finally, it occurred to me that a soldier may have been trying to re-attach the belt bar himself, maybe even in the field, got too much heat and eventually gave up, discarding the plate. It might also have been laying on the field, and fire burned up to it but not completely over it. No way of really knowing I guess. Also visible on reverse in old blue ink or felt tip pen is, “ Chan “ and “1955”. One of the eagle plates I got in the same lot was marked, “Chan.Vil 1957”, and I’m confident that Chancellorsville is where this one was recovered. All the plates in the auction lot were from the Chancellorsville, or Orange County, Virginia, area. The plate measures 51mm x 70mm, as it should, and comes with a written lifetime guarantee of authenticity. Not perfect but priced to sell ! Despite the slight damage to the left corners, this is a Fine Virginia State Plate, that Still Displays Beautifully ! Recovered Chancellorsville, Virginia.
$1750 plus shipping
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| Rarely Ever Recovered Anymore, - US Officer's Gilted Sword Belt Plate w/Considerable Gold Gilt Remaing |
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NEW !
Here is a Beautiful Gold Gilded US Officer’s Sword Belt Plate! It has 25-40% of its original gold gilt still intact in the recessed areas of the sun-rays, the eagle’s wings, and some of the stippling. The gilt really highlights the details of the device on the front. The rest of the brass is showing a nice smooth mostly green patina with a few areas of brown. The cast loop on the end is slightly bent back, but not too bad, and this plate will still go in a display case perfectly. The reverse shows a small belt tongue still nicely intact and all the brass wearing a nice smooth brown/green patina, with a few tiny areas of gilt also present there. It’s very uncommon to dig these gilded officer plates. The only recovery location I got with this one was North Carolina. A Superb Displaying Gold Gilded Officer’s Sword Belt Plate!
$375 plus shipping
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| Nicely Gilted Dug Civil War Period Officers Sword Belt Plate |
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Here is a Nicely Gilted Civil War Officer’s Sword Belt
Plate ! It’s a mid to late war pattern with integral cast
wreath retaining a generous portion of it’s original gold gilt
on the plate and device itself, along with small areas of the
original silver plate on the wreath. Reverse shows applied
tongue intact, though belt bar is broken. The device is finely
detailed and plate is very similar to Plate 646 in O’Donnell
& Campbells book, American Military Belt Plates, except
that 646 in the book is entirely silver plated. That plate is
one of just a few in the book with six-point stars like this
example, instead of five-point. The authors note that it is
“possibly Marine Corps, ca. 1865-1875.” The Marine Corps
adopted the same 1851 pattern plate as the army, gilt with
silver hightlites, until after the war, when the entire device
was silver plated, like the example in the book. This one
though is gold gilted with silver wreath, suggesting war
date production. A Nicely Gilted Dug Officers Sword
Belt Plate, possibly worn by a Marine Corp Officer !
$195 plus shipping
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| Fine Excavated M1851 Eagle Sword Belt Plate |
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Here is a beautiful, excavated example of the typical Civil War,
Sword Belt Plate. Remnants of the German silver wreath remain,
plate has good details on the face, and a very pretty green and
plumb patina. Standard Civil War period narrow tongue still intact
on the back, and retains the original body curve. Just a very nice
excavated sword plate that would be hard to upgrade, and will
display perfectly ! Recovered at a Massachusetts house site.
$225 plus shipping
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| SuperFine Excavated US Waist Belt Plate - w/Smooth Chocolate Patina |
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Here is an Absolutely Beautiful Dug US Waist Belt Plate ! It’s got a wonderful smooth chocolate brown patina, on the front with just a few touches of ground action around the outer edges, but otherwise no damage whatsoever. Reverse shows all attachment hooks intact, and 99.5% of the lead solder fill still intact, in mostly smooth condition, with just a little ground action around the end near the tongue. One of the arrow hooks has a corner clipped off, or maybe a manufacturing flaw, and issued that way. I just can’t tell you in words how stunning this buckle is in person. Just a gem! I noticed this plate was a bit small as soon as I picked it up. The plate is noticeable smaller than the dozen or so I have here, and I first thought it to be a "medium" size, but have been informed it is not. It measures approximately 53mm top to bottom, by 83mm wide. A Beautiful US Waist Belt Plate Though, nearly impossible to upgrade !
$295 plus shipping
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| Fine Excavated U.S. Carbine Sling Buckle and Belt Tip/Batwing |
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| Here is a Fine Excavated US Cavalryman’s Carbine Sling Buckle & Belt Tip or Batwing ! Though there is some slight bending to the buckle, there are no cracks, breaks, or repairs of any sort, and both tongues are present and move freely. It has a nice smooth, mostly brown patina to the frame with a few small areas of green verdigris, and an almost plumb patina on the tongues. The batwing has all four small brass pins present, with small portions of the original leather belt still underneath them on the back side. Buckle measures approximately 84mm tall by 55mm wide. A Fine Displaying Carbine Sling Buckle & Batwing !
$135 plus shipping
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| Fine Excavated U.S. Carbine Sling Buckle & Belt Tip |
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Here is a Nice Dug U.S. Carbine Sling Buckle & Belt Tip ! Both pieces have a nice mostly plumb patina, with the buckle itself also having several areas of green verdigris. Both tongues are present on the buckle and move freely. All four of the brass pins are still present in the belt tip and two have the peened washers still on the reverse. Looking at the reverse side of the buckle, one end of the center bar appears to be partially melted, though still firmly connected to the frame, making you think the buckle may possibly have been recovered from a fire pit. Buckle measures about 84mm x 52mm. Just a Fine Displaying Carbine Sling Buckle & Batwing !
$125 plus shipping
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| Helena NCO Eagle Plate |
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| Here's a Very Nice Displaying 3-Hook NCO Eagle Plate !
The front or face has a nice smooth patina, with good details, and
two small areas where the iron loops on reverse, rusted thru. Plate
is nice and flat though, with almost no edge damage. Reverse shows
98-99% lead solder fill remaining in smooth condition. Iron hooks
are mostly gone, with about half of one remaining, and stubs where
the other two were. Traces of iron running thru the lead solder
leave no doubt that this was manufactured as a 3-hook NCO
plate. A Non-Commissioned Officer's Eagle Plate With a Nice
Look ! Recovered Helena, Arkansas.
$225 plus shipping
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| Nice Dug Clipped Corner Rectangular Shoulder Belt Plate |
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Here is a Fine Dug Condition Early Shoulder Belt Plate !
It’s a clipped corner plate that originally had the single long
pin on reverse for attachment. Two holes in center likely
for a Company letter or other identifying device, that is long
gone. Reverse shows points where attachment pin once was,
and same brown patina, with copper highlights as the front.
Plate still retains some if not all of its body curve. The line
running diagonally across the front is not a crack or bend,
but rather a surface blemish or flaw in the manufacturing
process. These plates can date from the 1840s, thru the
1870s. Although recovery location of this one is unknown,
it is from the same collection as the Chancellorsville area
plates. A Nice Displaying Shoulder Belt Plate !
$120 plus shipping
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| Fine Unrepaired Large US Cavalry Soldered Filled Martingale Heart Plate |
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Here is a Beautiful Dug Large Heart Shape Cavalry Martingale Plate ! It's the pattern that measures about 2.625 inches tall, by 2.5 inches across. The front has a wonderful mostly smooth green patina with a few creases and dents, but nothing major. Reverse shows about half of the original lead solder fill still remaining along with rusty remnants of the iron attachment hooks, and someone's old collection number of #39 in black marker. The Best Thing about this Plate is that is has No breaks, No Major Damage, and No Repairs ! The last few years I have seen a few of this size dug martingales, but a good portion of them had been broken and repaired. Not the case here ! Just a First Rate, Uncommon Military Size Heart Shaped Martingale Plate ! Recovered Seven Days Battlefield near Richmond, Virginia.
SOLD
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| Beautiful Excavated US Eagle Breast Plate |
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Here is a Beautiful Excavated Eagle Breastplate ! It’s got a wonderfully smooth brown patina on the front with no damage of any sort. Reverse shows 95%+ of the lead solder fill still nicely intact, with a couple of small gouges, mostly near the edge. Both iron loops are intact and tight, and look very well preserved. As dug Eagle Breastplates go, this one is really “Top Drawer,” and displays even better than it looks in my pictures. Recovery location unknown.
SOLD
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| Very Fine Excavated Confederate Forked Tongue/Wishbone Waist Belt Buckle |
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| Here is a Fine Excavated Confederate Forked Tongue Waist Belt Buckle ! These frame buckles are also sometimes called a “Wishbone” buckle and this is the larger size measuring approximately 65 x 96mm. The entire buckle has a mottled dark green/brown patina that displays quite nicely. File finishing marks are plentiful on both the inside and outside edge of the frame itself and even on the center bar. The casting is crude and uneven but the buckle does have a curve to it. Some folks call it a body curve but I think it comes from use or the soldier slightly bending them as I have seen them that were almost flat also. The tongue still moves freely and there are no cracks, bends, breaks, or repairs of any kind. This one originated out of a local man’s almost 50 year collection. A Superb Confederate Forked Tongue Buckle ! Recovery location is unknown.
SOLD
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| Beautiful Excavated Confederate Sheet Brass Buckle |
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| Here's a real nice example of the Confederate Sheet Brass Waist
Belt Plate, OR, the M1833 Dragoon Sword Belt Plate !? Yep, it
may be an early US plate ! It's got a beautiful smooth green patina,
with one corner bent over, but still displays great. The reverse shows
a lot of solder remnants, and quite a bit of iron rusting, where the iron
wire belt hooks were once soldered. Reverse also shows the same
nice dark patina. It's a larger example measuring 82mm wide by
55mm tall. I've just recently been told by John Thillman, who would
certainly know, that this plate is actually for the M1833 Dragoon
Saber Belt ! [ John wrote a couple of the definititive Saber/Sword
books] Wow, John said that many of the southern states had
ordered the M1833 Dragoon Sabers and accoutrement belts, which
included this buckle, and as a result, many of the rigs, [ and plates ]
resided in the southern state arsenals at the beginning of the war,
which were nearly all taken over by southern state governments,
and many later transferred to the regular Confederate Authorites.
Sounds to me like typical Trans-Mississippi, and who knows
perhaps other theaters too ! Anyway, that would explain why
so many are recovered in Confederate Campsites.
Recovery location unknown. { PS. Thanks a bunch John
for the information !}
SOLD
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