Snake Belt Buckle

[woolshed]

For me , this was a nice find, an 1850`s Snake Belt Buckle off my local Goldfields.







Cheers, Woolshed.

 

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[G.A.P.metal]

Outstanding Find and welcome to Tnet.
Gary

 

[Zodiacdiverdave]

Nice buckle, I was with two guys this year that found one on two seperatea hunts, I'm still looking for my snake in the grass.
Welcome to TN by the way,
ZDD

 

[CC Hunter]

Awesome Find


Good job finding both halves of that buckle. Those serpent/snake buckles come in a variety of shapes and styles. Always a satisfying day when finding a complete and matching 19th Century belt buckle.

Famed discoverer of gold in 1851, Edward Hammond Hargraves, is actually depicted wearing a similar buckle in the painting where he is shown in a red cloak, saluting the gold diggers with a wave of his hat.

Welcome to TreasureNet, and we will look forward to seeing more "wintertime" finds during our summer here!



CC Hunter

 

[vpnavy]

Nice find and pictures woolshed.

 

[Goldiver]

Great find! Especially with finding the opposite hook too.

Steve

 

[catfisherman]

That's a real one to most that list snake buckles are repos nice find

 

[kuger]

Fantastic find!Anxious to see more of your Gold field finds!!

 

[JmCraz8]

Wow that's amazing and could've been worn by a Confederate Soldier only if these relics could talk to us haha awesome find!!!!

 

[joeyfresh]

These pop up all the time and everyone assumes it's a confederate snake buckle but yours may actually be period. Congrats if it is.

 

[woolshed]

I am in Australia, the term Confederate is American and part of your history. For the same period in Australia we know it at as Goldfields. The buckle was found on the Victorian Goldfields of the 1850`s and more than likely belonged to an English miner. I have seen many photos of miners and they have the same buckle on there belts.

Cheers, Woolshed

 

[CRUSADER]

Very nice to get the keeper as well!

 

[gunsil]

Wow that's amazing and could've been worn by a Confederate Soldier only if these relics could talk to us haha awesome find!!!!

The finder is in Australia, no Rebs there!! The snake buckles were English in origin and found wherever the English had colonies. And don't forget that when these buckles were popular the sun never set on the British Empire!! It sure is one sweet find!!

 

[HutSiteDigger]

Good job! Those are hard too come by!

 

[pepperj]

Nice snake buckle from down under.

 

[CoilyGirl]

Very pretty buckle and welcome to TN.

 

[Ironman!]

Congrats on a stunning example of the infamous snake buckle! Also, welcome to TNET as well!! All your finds you have posted since joining are all great examples of the 1850's mining boom going on there in your Australian goldfields!!! Woolshed, was your snake buckle marked on the reverse? The only reason I ask, is the one and only snake buckle I have is marked: S. W. SILVER & Co. LONDON & LPOOL Yes, it was found in a western U. S. mining camp! It just goes to show that once the world heard of gold discoveries, men came from and went to wherever they could, to strike it rich!!!

Keep up the stellar finds!!!!

IM

 

[goldnrelics]

killer find

 

[Erik in NJ]

Awesome find Woolman That should be up on the banner!! I just put my vote in!

 

[CC Hunter]

Ironman,

Thank you for posting up your fine example of an English snake buckle, with company markings!

Englishmen were indeed wearing these buckles long before the hostilities of war broke out in the young states, where swift Confederate steamers braved the Union blockade, laden with much needed supplies from European ports. While it is certainly true a number of Confederates troops wore imported English snake buckles and belts during this small window in history, the vast majority of these types of buckles never graced uniformed Americans nor encountered the hail of shot or shell.

Nice to also see that a fondness for snakes has been acquired there.

CC Hunter

p.s. Your example shows quite a life of strenuous use, resulting in these snakes nearly being "cut off" at the neck, from constant wear of the connecting loops. Had this one not been tossed or lost at that point in time, no doubt it would not have been long until these cuts sliced completely through or caused weakening to the breaking point, surely resulting in a buckle of unusable condition. This is the greatest amount of wear I have ever noted on a snake style buckle.