Union belt buckle question

[bzbadger]

A buddy found a union belt buckle today that's throwing me off a bit. We were at a historical site dating back to 1700 and found a few items from that period. The buckle is the standard oval U.S. but it's corroded and shows a different metal underneath what appears to be brass. The metal underneath looks like pot metal and is heavy. I thought all buckles from that period were solid brass but if there were others made from a brass overlay its news to me. Anyone have a clue? I'm thinking this is a reproduction and until someone comes up with news that they were made that way my mind isn't changing.

 

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[bzbadger]

So nobody knows if there was ever a buckle that was brass plated made during civil war?

 

[gunsil]

All the standard oval US buckles of the civil war era were made from a thin layer of brass that was shaped like the buckle and then the back was filled with lead. They were not brass plated, and although thin, the brass was not thin enough to wear through. They came with oval "puppy feet" or pointed "arrowhead" studs on one end and a longer hook on the other end. There were also cartridge box plates of the same size and made the same except they only had two steel rings sticking up from the lead. If you would show us photos we could get a better idea of what you have. There are thousands of repros made the same as the originals, good photos will help tell. None of the oval US belt plates were ever made from solid brass.

 

[bzbadger]

Thanks for that, I've gone through what info I have on them and some I can only assume officer buckles were actually brass so to have seen this buckle showing obvious signs of corrosion between the brass and the lead had me a bit worried if this is a fake or not. I will try to get pictures from him asap.

 

[bzbadger]

You can see how there is separation and it caused concern of this is real or not. With so many fakes out there its hard to say by this was buried deep on property dating back to early 1700's so it could very well be real

 

[BosnMate]

I'm far from being an expert on belt buckles, and hopefully cannonballguy will check in here with the answer, but the buckle looks like the real thing to me.

 

[gunsil]

I figure I know as much about these belt plates as anybody, and your belt plate is definitely an original piece from the civil war era. A very nice find!! At one point I had over 30 variations of these CW US buckles and although well corroded yours is 100% right. Yes, officer's buckles were solid brass, but they were not US oval buckles, they were rectangular "Eagle" buckles. The definite "tell" on your buckle is the way the long hook is made. Again, a very cool find!! Congratulate your buddy for all of us!!