Ridgeway Civil War Research Center A virtual examination of artifacts of the American Civil War
	Civil War Plates and Buckles
	by Harry Ridgeway

Plate1749-Federal-Shoulder-v14-FAKE-FANTASY-REPRODUCTION Federal round shoulder plate, with eagle. ODonnell illustratopm 468. The plate on the left was obtained directly from Yeck Products, this plate is sold to the living history market. The two plates to the right were dug by the author in the early 1960's, before reenactment became popular, these plates are absolutely authentic. The reproduction die does seem to have more detail, however I do not see much of a difference in these dies, differences in the sharpness of the strike, wear, and corrosion, notwithstanding. The reproduction die is very close to the original.The following plates have been obtained directly from Yeck Products Plate4504-Federal-Shoulder-Eagle-FAKE-FANTASY-REPRODUCTIONFakes, fantasies, or reproductionsFederal round shoulder plate., - Die468-FAKE-FANTASY-REPRODUCTION This is an investigative report, all items presented on this page are judged by the author to have been manufactured after the Civil War and are not authentic to the Civil War. This is an opinion only. There will be many collectors, dealers and others who will disagree with this finding, including some who are knowledgeable, reputable and honorable. There are uncertainties associated with many of these pieces, this is a judgement based on the evidence, experience, and sometimes gut feel, seldom is evidence 100%. Some of the items presented in this study have been examined, some are simply pictures submitted to the author or taken from sales or other listings. Second opinions may or may not have been obtained and some of those opinions may conflict. The purpose of this study is to present as much evidence as possible, and for the more controversial or uncertain items to present a fair and balanced analysis and let the reader conclude. This is an opinion, the author does not guarantee that these items are fake, nor does the author guarantee that they are not fake. Research Center: Plate1749-Federal-Shoulder-v14-FAKE-FANTASY-REPRODUCTION . Details click: http://relicman.com/plates/Plate1749-Federal-Shoulder-v14-FAKE-FANTASY-REPRODUCTION.html

P3480 ### F1480 Federal shoulder plate, pattern 468, manufactured by Yeck Products Shoulder plate is close to pattern 468, which is a common pattern. There are differences in the die, the feathers in the wings are actually more detailed on this copy than on the original. but you have to look very carefully as the differences are slight. This one os configured with thin steel wire hooks, however steel does rust eventually so the hooks are probably not going provide much of a clue. And the brass can be aged. So do not go by the hooks or the aging, compare the die details, this is the only reliable way to distinguish this repro from the real shoulder plate.Buckle measures 64mm Editor note: Plate was obtained directly from Yeck Products, as a sample of their production to be used in this presentation.  Research Center: Plate1749-Federal-Shoulder-v14-FAKE-FANTASY-REPRODUCTION . P3480 F1480 Not owned picture only

P3481 ### F1481 Federal shoulder pattern plate NCO , manufactured by Yeck Products Shoulder plate is close to pattern 468. This one has brass NCO hooks which is not correct for this pattern, I don't think this contractor made any NCO plates, so any NCO plates found with this die will be suspect. However it can be configured with iron hooks as a regular enlisted shoulder plate.Buckle measures 64mm Editor note: Plate was obtained directly from Yeck Products, as a sample of their production to be used in this presentation. Here is an authentic buckle, faked provenance. If the provenance were not faked, the site is so illegal, the seller would be facing serious jail time for digging on a national treasure! Research Center: Plate1749-Federal-Shoulder-v14-FAKE-FANTASY-REPRODUCTION . P3481 F1481 Not owned picture only

This is the "Ridgeway Civil War Research Center", a research tool for educational purposes only, and is provided at no cost to the reader. Some of the relics listed are retained in the author's collection, most reside in other collections and are not owned by the author. None of the items listed in this section are for sale, please refer to relicman.com sales listings for items offered for sale. This is a work in progress, I list items as I get to them, there are many patterns that are not listed yet, this list will be regularly updated as I get pictures and descriptions for more items. I will also correct mistakes, so if you see any please tell me. All items listed are believed to be authentic to the Civil War or as otherwise described. Any excavated relics have been recovered from private property with owners permission.This information is available for research purposes, pictures may be used by permission only.

Most information on this page is from:
Plates and Buckles of the American Military 1795 - 1874, by Sydney C. Kerksis.
Confederate Belt Buckles & Plates, by Steve E Mullinax.
American Military Belt Plates, by Michael J. O'Donnell & J.Duncan Campbell.

Ridgeway Civil War Research Center, A virtual examination of artifacts of the American Civil War Plates and buckles Research center, plates, click: http://relicman.com/plates/Plate0000-Index.html. Research center, plates and buckles, click: http://relicman.com/plates/Plate0000-Index.html.

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Civil War Relicman, Harry Ridgeway, Civil War plates and buckles, Relicman sales catalog. Sale listings click: http://relicman.com/plates/Relicman-Sales-Plate0000.html. Sale listings click: http://relicman.com/plates/Relicman-Sales-Plate0000.html.