Fake CW relics were being made even in 1895

[diggummup]

Was doing a little research and found an interesting article in an 1895 issue "Current Literature" magazine. On page 335 it talks about the opening of the National Park at Chickamauga & Chattanooga and how the demand for relics and "souvenirs" is so high that the supply has been exhausted years ago. It states that "every foot of battleground has been gone over by industrious gleaners and in places the soil has been plowed deep for acres in search of buried loot. Generally speaking, nothing remains"
Then it goes on to say "The natural result of the conditions described, together with the continued demand for more material, has been to establish an industry very similar to the famous relic factory in Brussels, that has for years supplied the field of Waterloo with ready made curios."
It goes on to talk about one of the most popular relics being a bullet stuck in a piece of wood and then describes exactly how they make them.

Very interesting article considering this was only around 30 years after the end of the war.

http://tinyurl.com/89lfznm

 

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[XL-PRO PRO]

Interesting reading.During the centennial(1965) quite a few artifacts were reproduced,also.During the late 1970's a local detectorist unknowingly dug and sold a repro CSA plate.The buyer found the small "made in ....."markings on the back and of course demanded and got his money back.

 

[oldcoon]

The same conditions prevailed at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Some of the locals became pretty proficient in the art of manufacture.

 

[diggummup]

Just think though, some of those factory made pieces that are well over a hundred years old now would actually seem authentic, nobody could tell the difference between a 117 year old relic and a 147 year old relic could they?

 

[21stTNCav]

Some times you can. Just recently I saw a oval CSA buckle for sale on ebay. The seller stated his Great Grandfather found it in Georgia in a "Pecan gravesite" lying on the ground. It had great patina and looked oh so right. The problem was that I could not find a large oval with a large CSA in it listed in the books. I looked for two days. When I contacted the seller telling him the problem he could not verify that it was a Confederate buckle, but did say for sure it had been picked up by his Great Grandfather just after 1900.

Yes, it was a sham. A fantasy plate that did not exist, but the seller was honest and did not lie. Someone bought it for about $375 which is pretty steep for a style of buckle the CSA never produced. Yes, sometimes you can tell a old repop from the real thing, but not all the time!

 

[americancivilwarrelics]

Items from my area (Antietam) were taken to Gettysburg to be sold. There are a lot of genuine items out there said to have come from Antietam that never even saw the battle. Be careful if you are buying Antietam/Gettysburg items.

 

[windage]

RELIC MILL: I pictured 5 or 6 old ladies in the back room, firing bullet after bullet into a pile of firewood, making authentic CW relics.