The item is a screaming total modern fake.
First, the lettering style of the US is consistent with the shape of modern reproduction oval US buckles, of rolled stamped brass with solder fill. Secondly, a primary feature to watch on the reproduction oval US buckles, is the shape of the two arrowhead hooks, and long clip hook. These reproduction hooks have never been an exact match for original hooks. Over the years, fakers have learned that removing tell-tale features such as the buckle hooks, can fool some people.
Having dug a few US buckles over the years, as well as seeing countless more, I cannot recall seeing any legitimate ones with ALL the hooks missing (usually the original buckles are lost or discarded as soon as one hook breaks, or they try a field repair, etc.). Next, take a look at the solder around the missing hooks on this spurious example, and notice how the solder filling is broken away completely encircling where each hook was coming out, and all three places are exactly the same. This is due to each of the brass hooks being bent and twisted repeatedly back and forth, until breakage was achieved (like they were gripped with pliers, being bent back and forth). Compare this with a legitimate broken hook on a known original US buckle, and we may note that actual wear and stress in 19th Century field use, would not create precisely the same such breakage with encircling solder loss on a single hook, much less contribute such impossible odds as having all three missing in the same fashion. Additionally, the consistency of solder filling on original US buckles dug in recent years, from most soil conditions, will generally exhibit a more overall brittle appearance with cracks and flaking of material.
Furthermore, the alteration of the letter U is very odd and sloppy, as there appears to be white lead or solder around the flattened areas. The pitting on the face of the buckle is inconsistent with what we might normally see with original excavated buckles even from harsh ground conditions. More likely this pitting is caused by something like an acid that was used to artificially age the piece.
With all relics, including original excavated examples, there are certainly exceptions to the known rules. However, when assessing a piece for legitimacy, the many repeated points that break these rules, throw out so many red flags, that soon we may be sure the item is deep in bogus territory!!!
CC Hunter
