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

Fakes, reproductions, replicas,
Frame buckles, Confederate plates 163 to 183

Disclaimer:  by clicking onto this page you are expressly accepting the terms of the disclaimer explained fully on the fakes main page.

Plates 163 to 169, bevel frame buckles
The original buckle was crude sand cast, often not square, and is easy to fake.

F1452      Confederate frame buckle, bevel style    

Buckle measures 60.6mm x 74mm.

Buckle was bought from a sutler, sold as a repro.  I do not find any marks on this plate to distinguish it as a repro.  At this point the manufacturing origin is not determined. 

F1238      Frame buckle, bevel edge, manufactured by Hanover Brass 

Plate measures 54.1mm X 67.2mm

Editor note: Plate was obtained directly from Hanover Brass as a sample of his production to be used in this presentation.

Bevel frame buckle, plate 168, McElroy and Hunt  
Original is rough cast, name is cast in not stamped.  Crude casting is a favorite amongst fakers.

F1040      McElroy & Hunt frame belt buckle  manufactured by Hanover Brass
   
"This reproduction McElroy & Hunt Belt plate is a MUST for anyone who enjoys civil war belt buckles. It is cast in red brass and as close as you will get to the original. The original was dug by Gary Williams from the Cold Harbor battlefield in 1989. A very nice reproduction to wear or collect. (NOTE) If your original has the same dent on the face that is shown in this sale, you may have a fake."

Source: ebay auction by jaglady00 4/14/06 "" McElroy & Hunt " Frame Belt Buckle Plate Macon, Ga. Item number: 6620841807"

Editor note: "jaglady00" is Hanover Brass, items sold as reproductions.   

F1446        McElroy & Hunt frame belt buckle  manufactured by Hanover Brass

Plate measures 53.3mm X (64.7mm to 65.3mm, plate is not square)

Editor note: Plate was obtained directly from Hanover Brass as a sample of his production to be used in this presentation. 

Editor note: This example has been highly polished and the two dents on the face are are obscured.  So how do you tell this fake from a real buckle?  When the maker mark is weak as it is on this one, it is easily removed and obscured.  I am not sure there is a reliable way to authenticate this pattern.

F1066     McElroy & Hunt frame belt buckle
 
"Very Scarce Dug "MCELROY & HUNT" Marked Confederate Belt Buckle
This is a very scarce version of the Confederate Civil War belt buckle. It is the style that was made by the firm of McElroy & Hunt of Macon, Georgia. This one is special because it is one of the very few that they actually marked. When they made the sand mold to cast the buckle they added their name to the mold. You can faintly see some of the "MCELROY & HUNT"  mark still visible on the reverse of the buckle. This is the pattern that is illustrated as figure 168 in Mullinax book on Confederate belt buckles, which we sell. The verbal history that accompanied this plate is that it was an early battlefield pick-up or early dig on Lookout Mountain in Chattanooga, Tennessee. It is in superb shape and will make a wonderful addition to any collection or museum.

Source:  Webpage listing

Editor note:  The seller is a respected dealer .  I respectfully disagree with his conclusions on this piece, the casting flaws match the Hanover Brass buckle too closely, in my opinion.  There is always uncertainty, so there is room for honest disagreement.  Ultimately which direction does a piece seem to go, good or bad? At the end of the day a decision has to be made, the buyer chooses in the end.

Plate 170 Heavy frame

F1453      Confederate frame buckle, heavy style  

Buckle measures 59mm X 73mm

Buckle was bought from a sutler, sold as a repro.  I do not find any marks on this plate to distinguish it as a repro.  At this point the manufacturing origin is not determined. 

F1237      Frame buckle, heavy style, manufactured by Hanover Brass 

Plate measures 58.2mm X 73.1mm

Editor note: Plate was obtained directly from Hanover Brass as a sample of his production to be used in this presentation. 

Plates 171 to 172, Confederate gutter back frame buckle  

F1236      Frame buckle, gutter back manufactured by Hanover Brass 

Plate measures 59.8 X 67.3

Editor note: Plate was obtained directly from Hanover Brass as a sample of his production to be used in this presentation.

F1228      Frame buckle, gutter back manufactured by Tim Parsley
 
Plate measures 57.9mm to 58.4mm (plate is not square) X 65.1mm

Editor note: Plate was obtained directly from Tim Parsley as a sample of his production to be used in this presentation.

Plate 173 standard frame
The term "standard" meant uniform or starting point.  There are a great many variations in this "standard" piece and because of its simplicity, this is one of the most heavily faked patterns.  Mullinax and O'Donnell in their book published one example of this plate.  Keim published others.  There are many different patterns of this buckle.  Because of this variation and the simplicity of design, this is a favorite with fakers.

F1227    Confederate "standard" frame buckle, manufactured by Tim Parsley
  
Plate measures 62.6mm to 63.0mm (plate is not square) X 73.5mm

Editor note: Plate was obtained directly from Tim Parsley as a sample of his production to be used in this presentation. 

F1134    Confederate "standard" frame buckle 

"This is a very nice example of a dug Confederate Frame style buckle. It has no ground distortion, a pleasant mottled green patina, no ground action, shows distinct file marks and is typical of what most Confederate soldiers used. This buckle was recovered from the Fredericksburg area, and is pretty much the exact style shown as Figure 281, page 178 of Keim's book on Confederate General Service Belt Plates. This one measures 62mm by 69mm. No reserve on this so it is going. Need to pay some school tuition. Here is an opportunity to obtain a genuine piece of Civil War Confederate history from an area of Virginia that saw a lot of that history. Buyer pays shipping cost of $4.50. The pictures pretty much tell the story. Thanks for looking

Source ebay auction by cracktick 6/30/06 "Very Nice Dug CS Frame Buckle, Fredericksburg, NR Item number: 320000778809"

Editor note:  This seller sells on ebay auction under "Private Auction".   It is highly doubtful this piece can be shown to be authentic.

Plates 175 to 183 tongued frames
The original buckle was crude sand cast, often not square, and is easy to fake.

F1454      Confederate frame buckle, Fork tongue style, manufactured by Hanover Brass  
 
Buckle measures 94mm X 63mm

Buckle was bought from a sutler, sold as a repro.  This is very old Hanover Brass production obviously this sutler had some slow moving stock.  You have to go back a ways to find plates that Hanover Brass so distinctly marked .  Apparently they have found that it is much easier to sell these fakes if there are no marks or the marks are weak and easily removed or obscured. 

[Return to Fakes main page]

[Return to relicman main page, (real stuff), enough of these fakes!]