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

Plate1889-Federal-Oval-US-v11-FAKE-FANTASY-REPRODUCTION US Oval plate, -FAKE-FANTASY-REPRODUCTION Research Center: Plate1889-Federal-Oval-US-v11-FAKE-FANTASY-REPRODUCTION . Details click: http://relicman.com/plates/Plate1889-Federal-Oval-US-v11-FAKE-FANTASY-REPRODUCTION.html

P3486 ### US buckle, fat letters arrow hooks. F1486 US buckle, Stokes Kirk pattern 477 No doubt about this one, I bought this from a sutler, clearly being sold as a re-enactment supply, the sutler had a big box of them selling them for $10 apiece. It was shiny and bright, I put it outside and it aged dark as indicated in a short time. I also experimented with heat and part of the back melted out. So don't judge authenticity by patina, that simply does not work as demonstrated with this piece. This seems to be a match to pattern 477 and looks to me to be identical to several other examples that I have accumulated, all the others were claimed to be real, but I think otherwise. Plate measures 58mm x 88mm.Editor note: Plate was obtained directly from a sutler, and was sold as a re-enactment supply. Research Center: Plate1889-Federal-Oval-US-v11-FAKE-FANTASY-REPRODUCTION . Plate measures 58mm x 88mm. P3486 F1486 Not owned picture only

P2278 ### US oval Fake plate with fake Shepard stamping, double fake!! Research Center: Plate1889-Federal-Oval-US-v11-FAKE-FANTASY-REPRODUCTION . Spies Chris

P3292 ### US oval wide letters Plate3910-Federal-Oval-US-FAKE-FANTASY-REPRODUCTION Research Center: Plate1889-Federal-Oval-US-v11-FAKE-FANTASY-REPRODUCTION . P3292 F1292 Not owned picture only

P3468 ### US oval buckle, pattern 477, manufactured by S&S Firearms F1468 US oval buckle, pattern 477, manufactured by S&S Firearms This buckle is shown in O'Donnell's book as plate 477 and there are some authentic examples of this pattern. Apparently Stokes Kirk also used the die or had a supply of these buckles. This one was manufactured much more recently, was obtained from a sutler as a repro, and is brand new with no attempt to age it. It seems very close which either means that somebody is using the old die or has successfully copied it. There are a lot of examples of this buckle floating around and the sutler will sell a skin only, so it can easily be filled with any backing or hooks of choice. Buckle measures 58mm x 88mm Editor note: Plate was obtained directly from S&S Firearms, as a sample of their production to be used in this presentation.  Research Center: Plate1889-Federal-Oval-US-v11-FAKE-FANTASY-REPRODUCTION . Plate measures 58mm x 88mm P3468 F1468 Not owned picture only

P3484 ### US buckle, fat letters arrow hook F1484 US buckle, Stokes Kirk pattern 477 maybe I culled this plate from a larger deal, the seller who is honorable, thought it was original. However I have my doubts and present it here. It appears to be a match to pattern 477, which is maybe Stokes Kirk, maybe original, and maybe pure repro. I don't know what to think of this buckle. Plate measures 58mm x 88mm. Research Center: Plate1889-Federal-Oval-US-v11-FAKE-FANTASY-REPRODUCTION . P3484 F1484 Not owned picture only

P3485 ### US boxplate, fat letters boxplate F1485 US boxplate, Stokes Kirk pattern 477 maybe I took this boxplate off a pattern 1864 cartridge box. The cartridge box was authentic and of the 1864 pattern which has the embossed boxplate and never had a brass plate so this plate clearly did not belong on that box. So is this thing real or fake? It appears to be a match to pattern 477, which is maybe Stokes Kirk, maybe original, and maybe pure repro. I don't know what to think of this buckle. Buckle measures 58mm x 88mm.  Research Center: Plate1889-Federal-Oval-US-v11-FAKE-FANTASY-REPRODUCTION . Plate measures 58mm x 88mm. P3485 F1485 Not owned picture only

P3493 ### US oval beltplate, S & S. F1493 US oval beltplate , pattern 477 This appears to be the S&S, Stokes Kirk die or whatever it is but came from yet another sutler. This one has been configured with modern hooks, is overfilled and only a fool will be fooled by it. The hook design is very good, it is much more durable than the original and is pure fantasy and should not ever fool collectors, so this is an honorable repro. I show it because these skins can be purchased without the backing and the backing of choice can be used, so watch the die, but do not be fooled by the back or the patinas. Buckle measures 58mm x 88mm Editor note: Plate was obtained directly from a sutler, and was sold as a re-enactment supply. Research Center: Plate1889-Federal-Oval-US-v11-FAKE-FANTASY-REPRODUCTION . Plate measures 58mm x 88mm. P3493 F1493 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.