Fakes, reproductions, replicas,
an investigative report, by Harry Ridgeway
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Fakes, reproductions, replicas, |
Fakes, reproductions,
replicas,
CS two part Richmond
or Virginia style, Confederate plates 001, and 003 to 005
Disclaimer: by clicking onto this page you are expressly accepting the terms of the disclaimer explained fully on the fakes main page.
Original has finely shaped letters with tall straight serifs, a narrow border, and stepped up tongue. Pattern 001 was probably the standard or original master pattern, patterns 003 and 004 were likely derivatives. Pattern 001 will be slightly larger than the other patterns, it started out with a bevel in the tongue and wreath bar, and the letters are better formed than the derivatives. Multiple manufacturers were likely involved, there is a lot of variation. Since the originals were copies or derivatives of each other, and the fakes are also copies, we are dealing with copies of copies, some of these copies are original and some are not. For analysis all of these patterns need to be considered and compared as a group. This may be the top choice of the fakers, regrettably there seem to be far more fakes of this pattern out there than authentic examples, some are very well aged and disguised. There may not be a reliable way to authenticate this pattern except by judging the integrity of the source.
Plate 001 more or less
F1442
CS 2-Piece Richmond Arsenal
Style Belt Buckle, manufactured by Hanover Brass
Tongue keeper 46.5mm
Wreath keeper 46.9mm
Wreath height 48.2mm
Editor note: Plate was obtained directly from Hanover Brass as a sample of his production. Note that any maker marks on this buckle are weak, apparently so that they can be easily removed or obscured.
F1009
CS 2-Piece Richmond Arsenal
Style Belt Buckle, manufactured by Hanover Brass
"This reproduction CS Richmond style Two Piece is a MUST for anyone who enjoys
civil war belt buckles. It is cast from red brass, typical of the Richmond, Va.
arsenal CS. The Confederate foundries lacked the zinc that was used to turn the
copper yellow. Has original look. The original was dug from private land by Gary
Williams, veteran relic hunter!"
Source: ebay auction by jaglady00 3/27/06 "CS 2-Piece Richmond Arsenal Style Belt Buckle Plate Item number: 6616033610"
Editor note: "jaglady00" is Hanover Brass, items sold as reproductions.
The following is Gary
Williams explanation of his production, (civilwarfakes.com, Photo # CS2P1)
Plate 001 "Richmond Arsenal" CS Two Piece 1861-1865 47 x
82mm/wreath height 48mm. Known as the (spoon type) this is the most attractive
of the CS two piece belt plates. They were sand cast in Richmond, Virginia
throughout the war. The belt plate was a red color because of the high copper
content in the metal. Confederate factories did not have the zinc, which was
used to turn the copper yellow. I dug the original that I use for my master
pattern in Petersburg, Va. You need to study this belt plate because I see it
faked often. One thing to look for is on the wreath belt loop, top front bar.
When finished it was filed a little to much cutting into the bar. I have cast
thousands of this plate and all look the same. You need to find a flaw in my
repro and use this for your reference.
The following is Gary
Williams explanation of his production, (civilwarfakes.com, Photo # CS2P56)
Plate 001 & 002 ( CS Two Piece Belt Plate.) 48 x 85/wreath ht.
50mm. Marked GW inside the disc. From the collection of Charles Burnette. I see
this two piece faked often. I have seen it on belts and not on belts. Red brass
and yellow brass. What they do to make it look different is to take the CS2P1
tongue and the CS2P14 wreath and put the two together to make the belt plate
look like a different style. Also other people who cast buckles use this style
and not the matched set. I dug the original and know what wreath goes to the
set. You need to find a casting flaw that you can use as your reference. They
use this Script CS wreath because the detail is sharp. A better looking wreath
than the original wreath that was dug with the tongue. Study these photos.
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FP1486 |
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CS two part buckle, "Richmond" style |
F1341
CS Richmond
Tongue keeper 46.3mm
Wreath keeper 46.3mm
Wreath height 48.5mm
The owner of this buckle died, the estate executor submitted this for evaluation. It was a small collection, most of the expensive buckles were fakes, most of the cheap ones (US buckles and breast plates) were real. I am certain this collector thought they were all real. Unfortunately he has taken information as to the sourcing to his grave.
Plate 003 or 004
F1035
CS 2-Piece Richmond Arsenal Style Belt Buckle Plate variant,
manufactured by Hanover Brass
"This reproduction CS Richmond style Two Piece is a MUST for anyone who enjoys
civil war belt buckles. It is cast from red brass, typical of the Richmond, Va.
arsenal CS. The Confederate foundries lacked the zinc that was used to turn the
copper yellow. Has original look. The original was dug from private land by Gary
Williams, veteran relic hunter!"
Source: ebay auction by jaglady00 3/31/06 "CS 2-Piece Richmond Arsenal Style Belt Buckle Plate variant Item number: 6617206046"
Editor note: "jaglady00" is Hanover Brass, items sold as reproductions
The following is Gary
Williams explanation of his production, (civilwarfakes.com, Photo # CS2P3)
Plate 003 Richmond CS Two Piece Belt Plate 46 x 78mm/48 wreath ht.
The original of this plate was dug by Charles Burnette at Malvern Hill, Va. and
still is in his collection. This is a good example of how the foundries made
master patterns off their original pattern to be used to cast buckles. If you
measure the same type belt plates you come up with different measurements. They
had orders for so many of these plates that they sent out work to other
Foundries. This will cause the plate to have a little different look and also be
sized different. These plates were hand finished. Each person finishing a buckle
will not take the same mm's as the guy next to him. This is why some plates are
larger than others. GW is stamped in the back of the tongue.
The following is Gary
Williams explanation of his production, (civilwarfakes.com, Photo # CS2P2)
Plate 004 Richmond CS Two Piece Belt Plate 46 x 81/wreath height 48mm. The
original of this plate was dug by Howard Crouch in Northern Virginia. He still
has the original. You need to find a flaw to use because it will always be there
and if removed it will show. GW stamped in back of tongue. Everything applies to
this belt plate that applied to Plate 001.
The following is Gary
Williams explanation of his production, (civilwarfakes.com, Photo # CS2P51)
Plate 004 (variant) Richmond CS Two Piece Belt Plate 48 x
80/wreath ht.48mm. GW stamped in the back of the tongue. Original dug by Ronnie
Mantlo on the White Oak Swamp battlefield. This buckle has the same history as
Plate 001 except it is a crude casting compared to the first CS.
F1157
CS 2-Piece Richmond Arsenal Style Belt Buckle
"AUCTION IS FOR A 100% GUARANTEED GENUINE CIVIL WAR RICHMOND ARSENAL CS
TONGUE & WREATH BUCKLE ON ORIGINAL LEATHER BELT. THIS PIECE IS THE LAST OF 3
PCS OF A GROUPING ID'D TO A H.H. HAYES OF THE 26TH NORTH CAROLINA INFANTRY.
EVERYTHING IS CORRECT ABOUT THIS BUCKLE, LEATHER IS CORRECT, PERIOD SEWN ON,
BEAUTIFUL CHOCOLATE NON-DUG PATINA ON THE BUCKLE. BUCKLE IS SIMLAR TO PLATE 001
PAGE 10 OF THE MULINAX PLATE BOOK. PLATE MEASURES @ 51MM X 84MM IN SIZE. PLATE
HAS BEEN WELL STORED AWAY ALONG WITH THE OTHER PIECES OF THIS GROUPING. PLEASE
EMAIL WITHANY AND ALL QUESTIONS, 100% GUARANTEED GENUINE FOR LIFE W/ A 7 DAY
UNCONDITIONAL MONEY BACK GUARANTEE INSPECTION PERIOD. US SHIPPING WILL BE
$10.00...........................The 26th Infantry Regiment was organized in
August, 1861, at "Crab Tree," a plantation three miles from Raleigh,
North Carolina. Its members were recruited in the counties of Ashe, Union,
Wilkes, Chatham, Wake, Caldwell, Moore, Alamance, Randolph, and Anson. The
regiment served at Fort Macon, on Bogue Island, North Carolina, then fought at
New Bern. During the war it was assigned to General R. Ransom's, Pettigrew's,
Kirkland's, and MacRae's Brigade. It saw action in the Seven Days' Battles and
later the conflicts at Rawls' Mills and Goldsboro. The 26th went on to fight
with the Army of Northern Virginia from Gettysburg to Cold Harbor , took its
place in the entrenchments south of the James River, and was involved in the
final campaign at Appomattox . It lost 87 killed or wounded at New Bern , had 6
killed and 40 wounded during the Seven Days' Battles, and of the 843 engaged at
Gettysburg , more than eighty percent wer disabled. The unit reported 16 killed
and 83 wounded at Bristoe and on April 9, 1865, surrendered 10 officers and 120
men."
Source: ebay auction by vintage_comics_and_collectibles 7/30/06 "CIVIL WAR RICHMOND CS TONGUE & WREATH BUCKLE ON BELT 100% GUARANTEED GENUINE ID'D TO H.H. HAYES 26TH NC INF Item number: 250011511375"
Editor note: This seller sells on ebay auction under "Private Auction". It is highly doubtful this piece can be shown to be authentic.
Additional information, I now have examined this buckle, actual pictures of it below:
Tongue keeper 47.0mm
Wreath keeper 48.8mm
Wreath height 49.1mm
The seller name registered on ebay is:
Larry D Wisdom
Mr Wisdom's address is not disclosed on ebay but we have been able to
fill in the following additional details:
Larry D Wisdom
1017 Kentucky Ave.
Bristol, TN. 37620
His business address is; 2671 Lee Hwy
Bristol, Va. 24202
He apparently has a store at this address Phone # 276-591-1996
Payment was demanded and paid to the following:
Ben and Judy Honaker
408 madison st.
Bristol, VA. 24021
Editor note: In my opinion this buckle examined matches the Hanover Brass repro above in all material respects. Further the belt appears to be a recycled Federal belt with the end removed. The belt and the buckle have nice patina, but the two pieces do not share any patina, it is doubtful these two pieces traveled together for very long, particularly since the buckle was likely manufactured recently. No doubt Hanover Brass will contend that this was made as a "repro", but I do not find any maker or other marks to distinguish it as a repro or evidence that marks were removed. Was this manufactured as a "repro" or was it intended to be a fake from the beginning?
F1418
CS two piece
This plate was brought for evaluation. The buyer got a "great deal" off
ebay but didn't retain a record of his purchase. It is well aged, but
measured small. I rejected it but told him to get other opinions. So
is it real or fake?
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FP1641 |
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CS two part buckle, Richmond style style Two part |
Joe Liesch makes CS Richmond or Virginia two piece patterns too:
F1496
CS two part buckle, Richmond style, manufactured
by Joe Liesch
Casting is crude. This manufacturer supplies a lot
of buckles to re-enactors, most including this one are distinctly different from
the originals and were not meant to fool collectors.
Tongue keeper: 47.3mm
Wreath keeper: 47.7mm
Wreath height: 49mm
Editor note: Plate was obtained directly from Joe Liesch as a sample of his production to be used in this presentation. These are sold extensively to re-enactors. This is not marked either, but I doubt many collectors will be fooled by this.
Frankenstein pattern 001, 003 or 004 or whatever it is:
| FP0855 |
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CS tongue & wreath repaired buckle |
Need a leather rig, I wonder what this will look like once it is aged:
F1010
CS 2-Piece Richmond Arsenal
Style Belt Buckle Plate with Leather belt, manufactured by Hanover Brass
"This reproduction CS Richmond style Two Piece is a MUST for anyone who enjoys
civil war belt buckles. It is cast from red brass, typical of the Richmond, Va.
arsenal CS. The Confederate foundries lacked the zinc that was used to turn the
copper yellow. Belt made by Gary Williams Jr. and has the crude type Richmond
sword hangers cast in red brass just as the original. Also has the shoulder
strap. Has original look. The original was dug from private land by Gary
Williams, veteran relic hunter"
Source: ebay auction by jaglady00 3/12/06 "CS 2-Piece Richmond Arsenal Style Belt Buckle Plate Leather belt, Richmond sword hangers and shoulder strap Item number: 6611631599"
Editor note: "jaglady00" is Hanover Brass, items sold as reproductions. I imagine this will look pretty good once aged!
F1029
CS 2-Piece Richmond Arsenal Style Belt Buckle,
Sword Hanger and
Hardware, manufactured by Hanover Brass
"This reproduction CS Richmond Arsenal sword hangers were crude casting and
the original was dug from a Richmond battlefield. All are sand cast just as they
were cast in Richmond during the war. If you have a Richmond CS , you need
these. Hangers shown only for sale."
Source: ebay auction by jaglady00 3/15/06 "CS 2-Piece Richmond Arsenal Style Belt Buckle Plate Sword Hanger and Hardware "Richmond Arsenal" Item number: 6612517994"
Editor note: "jaglady00" is Hanover Brass, items sold as reproductions.
F1030
CS 2-Piece Richmond Arsenal Style Belt Buckle,
Sword Hanger and
Hardware, snake style manufactured by Hanover
Brass
"This reproduction CS Richmond Arsenal sword hangers were crude casting and
the original was dug from a Richmond battlefield. All are sand cast just as they
were cast in Richmond during the war. If you have a Richmond CS , you need
these. Gary Williams dug a CS two piece at White Oak Swamp that had this snake
sword hanger instead of the regular hanger. You see this type Snake with the
Union sword belt. Hangers shown only for sale."
Source: ebay auction by jaglady00 3/15/06 "CS 2-Piece Richmond Arsenal Style Belt Buckle Plate Sword Hanger and Hardware "Richmond Arsenal" Item number: 6612518450"
Editor note: "jaglady00" is Hanover Brass, items sold as reproductions.
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