Fakes, reproductions, replicas, an investigative report, by Harry Ridgeway

Fakes, reproductions, replicas,

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FP0732     CSA buckle, may be Bannerman manufacture
 
Measures 46mm x 67mm.  

This CSA plate is believed to have been made by Bannerman originally and has not been altered. It was worn by its owner in the 1960's, then passed through an estate. Somewhere along the way, it was said to have been dug, but this plate was never in the ground, in my opinion.

A note about size.  This plate looks to me to be exactly like my item P0731 above but it is slightly smaller in height and slightly larger in width.  All of these cast CSA buckles, authentic ones as well as fakes, and Bannerman reproductions, are hand finished.  The rough edges are filed and it does not take much of this work to change the size of a plate by as much as one mm or fractions of one mm.  Further, even the authentic plates were produced in muli-generations, that is the original pattern would be used to produce a plate, itself then used as a pattern for the next generation, and up to 3 or 4 generations can be produced from the same pattern, each one smaller than the previous.  

There will also be slight differences in the details of the lettering and periods.  The mold is a sand casting off a pattern.  If grit forms, that creates low spots, if grit is removed or rough edges "cleaned up" that creates larger letters, funny looking bumps and serifs etc.  So there will be variations, almost on every plate and there is no way for all of the possible variations, fakes and real,  to ever be captured in any of the books on Civil War plates.

Editor Note:  Plate was submitted to me for analysis.  I told the owner that I thought it is a Bannerman repro.