Confederate spur

[Ralph Heinz]

Go to Ebay and search for a Confederate spur from Gettysburg. It ends Saturday. Now if you have Bob Baird's book Confederate, US and Other Civil War Used Spurs, then go to pages 77-79. For those who do not have this book, the spur for sale on Ebay is an early 1900's spur -- not Confederate and certainly not "picked up on the East Cavalry field at Gettysburg." This type of spur is common and commonly sold as Confederate. In a 1913 catalog, you could buy these by the dozen as "No. 17 -- Brass, w't per doz. prs. 5 lbs."

Why would you bid on something like this without consulting the book of an expert first? When some of us say "Buy books first" there is a valid reason to save you from making expensive mistakes. Many a new collector has bought something only to find out later it was bogus and who gave up collecting entirely -- bummed out and disgusted with money wasted.

"Gettysburg" and "Confederate" are the magic words that makes relics sell. Remember it's like buying blue sky if there's no positive proof something came from that battlefield. How much would you pay for blue sky?

 

[ikesdad]

Or like worshiping a false god. Keep it up, the enlightenment here is priceless.

 

[major bill]

Buying from Ebay is always a risk. Make sure what you purchase on Ebay is real.

 

[UCVRelics]

The best way to acquire a REAL CS Spur is to dig it.

 

[zburkett]

I buy a good bit from ebay, but will only pay reproduction prices. That said, antique shops are worse and flea markets worse still. I recently passed on a Texas buckle that I really wanted because there was a sword in the same auction that I knew was wrong. I totally agree start with books, then trips to really good museums (some small museums are as bad as ebay.) after all that "buyer be wear!