Not long ago I bid on a box of stuff on an online auction. Among the stuff, but not why I bid, was what I thought was a brooch or key ring decoration in the form of a C.S.A. buckle made of brass. When the box arrived I found that the "buckle" was much larger than I expected. It did, in fact, have a pin on the back in a form that was common during World War I and earlier.
Since it had a Civil War form in appearance, I grabbed my copy of Confederate Belt Buckles and Plates by Steve E. Mullinax to see what buckle it was trying to imitate. Mullinax presents solid cast brass C.S.A. buckles on pages 53 through 65. These buckles seem to have squared corners rather than the rounded corners that appear on this buckle. The face of this buckle looks as if someone were trying to make it look crude; it makes the buckles illustrated in Mullinax's book look professionally done. This plate appears to be 48 mm tall, 69 mm long and 1.5 to 2 mm thick. The buckle is not flat and has a slight arch which I was unable to measure. The back has a pin that appears to be light duty, as if it might go on a white web militia belt for a parade uniform but not a leather belt. The back appears to be finished off better than similar buckles in Mullinax's book. The most similar buckle in the book appears to be plate 106 which he measures at 48 X 70 mm.
For comparison purposes I have shown a clipped, plain, brass cross belt plat with a pin back. This plate measures 58 X 85 mm and has a more robust pin in a style that seems to have been used as early as the 1840's although its popularity lasted well into the 20th century as can be seen in American Military Belt Plates by O'Donnell and Campbell.
It was stated on another thread recently that while individual state militias may have issued cross belt plates, the Confederate government did not. Looking through Mullinax's book supports this view. This brings me to the question, what is this really? Options seem to include a Hollywood prop from the first half of the 20th century, re-enactor costume from the Centennial or later, Bannerman souvenir, or something else. What is everyone's best guess for age and purpose?
(I apologize for the image quality of the close-ups, I only have my phone to work with at present.)
Since it had a Civil War form in appearance, I grabbed my copy of Confederate Belt Buckles and Plates by Steve E. Mullinax to see what buckle it was trying to imitate. Mullinax presents solid cast brass C.S.A. buckles on pages 53 through 65. These buckles seem to have squared corners rather than the rounded corners that appear on this buckle. The face of this buckle looks as if someone were trying to make it look crude; it makes the buckles illustrated in Mullinax's book look professionally done. This plate appears to be 48 mm tall, 69 mm long and 1.5 to 2 mm thick. The buckle is not flat and has a slight arch which I was unable to measure. The back has a pin that appears to be light duty, as if it might go on a white web militia belt for a parade uniform but not a leather belt. The back appears to be finished off better than similar buckles in Mullinax's book. The most similar buckle in the book appears to be plate 106 which he measures at 48 X 70 mm.
For comparison purposes I have shown a clipped, plain, brass cross belt plat with a pin back. This plate measures 58 X 85 mm and has a more robust pin in a style that seems to have been used as early as the 1840's although its popularity lasted well into the 20th century as can be seen in American Military Belt Plates by O'Donnell and Campbell.
It was stated on another thread recently that while individual state militias may have issued cross belt plates, the Confederate government did not. Looking through Mullinax's book supports this view. This brings me to the question, what is this really? Options seem to include a Hollywood prop from the first half of the 20th century, re-enactor costume from the Centennial or later, Bannerman souvenir, or something else. What is everyone's best guess for age and purpose?
(I apologize for the image quality of the close-ups, I only have my phone to work with at present.)
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