A virtual examination of artifacts of the American Civil War
by Harry Ridgeway
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Ridgeway Civil War Research Center A virtual examination of artifacts of the American Civil War |
| Civil War Plates and Buckles | |
by Harry Ridgeway |
| Plate6399-Virginia-431-Wheeler-FAKE-FANTASY-REPRODUCTION Virginia-FAKE-FANTASY-REPRODUCTION Virginia rectangle plate, state seal, Mullinax illustration 432, Horstmann pattern, manufacture by Hanover Brass. Research Center: Plate6399-Virginia-432-v1-FAKE-FANTASY-REPRODUCTION .   Details click: http://relicman.com/plates/Plate6399-Virginia-432-v1-FAKE-FANTASY-REPRODUCTION.html |
| P3198 ### F1198 Virginia rectangle buckle Send me your best offer. Hello folks and thanks for looking at my auction. Here is a Civil War Virginia militia Confederate brass belt plate worn by Virginia troopers during the Civil War. This is the rare die struck rolled brass belt plate made in 1861. It is a flat plate, not curved as the more common Virginia plates. This fine example was purchased at the 2004 Nashville Civil War show by myself. I purchased many fine plates that year. I received some history on the belt plate as follows: the belt plate was excavated near Winchester Virginia sometime before 1980 by Mr. James Releford of Leetown, Virginia. I don't know the exact location or date of excavation. I am sad to say that I must sell off many of my prized relics as I have been recently diagnosed with diabetes and must pay hospital bills.The belt plate is brass showing a very nice patina. The very diserable chocolate patina is seen on much of the belt plate. Much of the gold gilting is still present. There is minimal pitting and loss of brass. This style belt plate is shown in the two bibles of Civil War era belt plates; Kerksis and Mullinax. The measurements of the belt plate are correct, approximately 70mm wide by 51mm tall. Mullinax Plate 433, page 234 in the Expanded Edition.The belt plate is 100% guaranteed to be authentic from the Civil War era. The winner has a 10 day inspection period for return minus shipping and insurance costs. I have set a very low reserve to protect my investment. Send me an offer if you like. Please bid with confidence, this belt plate is right as rain!I will accept certified funds for payment. Money order or cashier check. I will also accept a personal check but must have a short waiting period for the check to clear the account. I am sorry but I do not accept Paypal. Shipping and handling cost is $8 to the USA. Insurance is required and will be calculated at the close of the auction. International bidders are encouraged to bid. I will answer any quesions you may have, just email me. Thanks for your attention and good luck. source: ebay auction by myoldrelics ( private ) 10/15/06 , Original Civil War Virginia Militia Belt Pate 1861 RARE 100% Authentic Winchester Virginia With History Low Res Item number: 130035161673 Editor note: This seller sells on ebay auction under Private Auction . It is highly doubtful this piece can be shown to be authentic. Research Center: Plate6399-Virginia-432-v1-FAKE-FANTASY-REPRODUCTION . P3198 F1198 Picture only submitted.  |
| P2919 ### Hanover Brass repro: Virginia, Post War Virginia Belt Plate. This is an example of Hanover Brass commercial grade reproduction, the plate has been produced in quantity, sold to the living history market, and is generally readily available. The product has also been used as feedstock for fakes, with chemical aging and other alterations. Gary Williams has provided the following pictures and explanation: Photo # CSVA14 Page 61 Virginia Militiaria of the Civil War by Howard R. Crouch (Post War Virginia Belt Plate. 49 x 67mm. Marked GW. The original of this belt plate was solid cast and pressed in a metal mold. It had a wide tongue and a soldered on belt bar. My reproduction is cast with three hooks. No way like the original. If you take the hooks off and apply the right backing You can see the three marks where the hooks were. Research Center: Plate6399-Virginia-432-v1-FAKE-FANTASY-REPRODUCTION . Photo # CSVA14 civilwarfakes com   |
| P2921 ### Hanover Brass repro: Virginia Belt Plate. This is an example of Hanover Brass commercial grade reproduction, the plate has been produced in quantity, sold to the living history market, and is generally readily available. The product has also been used as feedstock for fakes, with chemical aging and other alterations. Gary Williams has provided the following pictures and explanation: Photo # CSVA16 Plate 432 (1852-1861 Virginia Belt Plate.) 50 x 68mm. Marked GW. Original is in the Gary Williams collection. The photo's of this Virginia shows the detail that I get using sand molds. Not stamped or wax cast but sand cast. The casting of this plate is smooth and you would not believe it is sand cast. I cannot cast the stamped belt plate the same thickness. I need to thicken it so the metal will fill the mold. This buckle should not be a problem because it is much thicker than the die stamped original. I still see this Virginia faked. All you need to do is compare the thickness. Also pictured is the belt keeper. The post war Virginia looks just like this plate from the face but the back on the post war Virginia is solid. The pre war has a narrow front hook and the post war has a wide hook. Both are soldered on. Both have a bar for the belt. Research Center: Plate6399-Virginia-432-v1-FAKE-FANTASY-REPRODUCTION . Photo # CSVA16 civilwarfakes com   |
| P3163 ### F1163 Virginia rectangle plate AUCTION IS FOR A 100% GUARANTEED AUTHENTIC CIVIL WAR CONFEDERATE VIRGINIA STATE SEAL HORSTMAN STYLE BELT PLATE. THESE WERE CA: 1852-1861 MILITIA STATE BUCKLES. BUCKLE WAS DUG NEAR WILDERNESS BY THE ORIGNAL OWNER OF THE BUCKLE WHOM I ACQUIRED THE PIECE FROM. TONGUE IS MOSTLY BROKEN OFF AS WELL AS THE BELT LOOP BAR. BUCKLE IS SIMLIAR TO PLATE 432 ON PAGE 234 IN THE MULLINAX PLATE BOOK. THIS PLATE MEASURES 51MM X 70MM IN SIZE. PLEASE EMAIL WITHANY AND ALL QUESTIONS BEFORE BIDDING, 7 DAY INSPECTION PERIOD ALLOWED ON PURCHASE OF BUCKLE, SATISFACTION GUARANTEED, YOU WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED. US SHIPPING WILL BE $6.00 Source: ebay auction by vintage_comics_and_collectibles, 8/6/06 AUTHENTIC CIVIL WAR CONFEDERATE VIRGINIA BELT PLATE CA: 1852-1861 HORSTMAN STATE SEAL MILITIA BUCKLE DUG Item number: 250013590624 The following exchange was posted on the NVRHA Fakes Forum regarding this auction: I contacted Vintage Comics & Collectibles to inquire about a Virginia belt buckle he was selling for a very low buy it now price. Here is the message I sent, as well as his response: Hi~ I'm new to civil war collecting and this Virginia buckle caught my eye. I notice that your buy it now price is a lot lower than what I see these sell for in relic shops. They want at least $2500 for one like this. Why is yours so low? Also, I was on another site and they mention you as a seller of fake items. What do you say to that? Jim Here is his response: hello the reason people down my items and say i sell fake stuff is to try and detur people from bidding on my items where i do sell so low i have even had stuff i have sold took to one of the so called reknown dealers and they say it is fake, but, i take the item back as stated in my description and re-sell it because i know when i say something is real, it is real. but they hate it because i sell cheap and it drives there prices down to were they cannot get premium out of there stuff. i like to buy it cheap so i can sell it cheap. i am not out to make a fortune on cw items, just make a few bucks and make someone happy is all, please email any time you have a question and i will asnwer to the best and honest i can After finding this site and researching Vintage Comics, I decided to pass on the buckle. Thanks for the good work you do, and for saving me some money! Editor note: This seller sells on ebay auction under Private Auction . It is highly doubtful this piece can be shown to be authentic. Research Center: Plate6399-Virginia-432-v1-FAKE-FANTASY-REPRODUCTION . P3163 F1163 Picture only submitted.    |
| P3222 ### F1222 Virginia rectangle bucklePlate measures 48.0mm X 66.2mm, it is very thickEditor note: Gary Williams gave this belt plate to me along with a belt, both of which I wore to shows for many years. These thick stud hooks and thickness of the plate make it very durable, I have worn it a lot and it wears much better than anything from the period would. There is no reason for anybody to be fooled by this buckle, although somebody did bring me one to sell me one time! There was a time when Hanover Brass produced honest repros and this is one of them. But as you can see from above, they are now making their exact copies much more accurately. They say they are not producing fakes. yea yea, you can be the judge of that. Research Center: Plate6399-Virginia-432-v1-FAKE-FANTASY-REPRODUCTION . P3222 F1222 Picture only submitted.    |
| P3247 ### F1247 Virginia rectangle buckle AUCTION IS FOR A 100% GUARANTEED AUTHENTIC NON-DUG CIVIL WAR CONFEDERATE VIRGINIA WAIST BELT PLATE. THIS PLATE IS IN SUPERB SHAPE AND CAN BE REFERRENCED TO PLATE 391 IN THE MULLINAX CONFEDERATE PLATE BOOK. PLATE STILL RETAINS LOOP KEEPER ON BACK, BUT IT IS WEAK AND RUSTY. NICE PATINA. THIS BUCKLE WAS PURCHASED BY ME PERSONALLY 2 YEARS AGO FROM A DEALER AT THE NASHVILLE CIVIL WAR RELIC SHOW. PLATE HAS BEEN APPRAISED AT WELL OVER 4K+. I AM NEEDING THE CASH NOW TO HELP WITH RECENT DOCTOR BILLS SO I WILL BE SELLING OFF A LOT OF MY COLLECTIBLES TO HELP OUT. PLEASE EMAIL WITH ANY AND ALL QUESTIONS, THIS P[LATE IS PRICED TO MOVE............ I AM NOT A BIG TIME CIVIL WAR DEALER, SO I DONT NEED PRIMO PRICE FOR MY STUFF UNLIKE MOST. PLATE WILL COME WITH A 3 DAY UNCONDITIONAL MONEY BACK GUARANTEE INSPECTION PERIOD. PLEASE EMAIL WITH ANY AND ALL QUESTIONS, US SHIPPING WILL BE $6.00 Source: ebay auction by vintage_comics_and_collectibles 11/13/06: NON-DUG CIVIL WAR CONFEDERATE VIRGINIA WAIST BELT PLATE 100% GUARANTEED AUTHENTIC NON-DUG SPECIMEN Item number: 2500491645 Editor note: This seller sells on ebay auction under Private Auction and is frequently the subject of conversation on the NVRHA forum on fakes. It is highly doubtful this piece can be shown to be authentic. It appears that this is a doctored example of the Virginia made by Historical Reproductions.This plate has now been submitted by the buyer for examination with the following result:Plate measures 50.1mm X 68.9mmEditor note: This is a very dangerous fake. It appears to be the Historical Reproductions version of this plate which is cast using the lost wax process. The thickness is close, but on detail it is clearly a cast plate and not stamped. The casting quality is improved over the example I earlier noted (P0691), however both came from the same foundry in my opinion.The buyer also submitted a copy of the following email: From: JUNKBUYER2004@aol.comSubject: RE Item #250049164512 - Notification of an Instant Payment Received from we....Date Mon, November 20, 2006 1:23amTo: (not listed)You got 3 days from when you get it to send it back, for a refund on the va buckle if unhappy i will need a letter from a reputable dealer accompanied with the buckles return for full refund stating it is no good. i know the plate you bought is a good plate and not a thing wrong with it. send it to mullinax like I said or jeff girardi of richmond relics and either will tell you it is a genineplate Editor note: A seller cannot limit fraud by limiting the timeframe for a claim. There is no way on god's green earth that this could be complied with. it usually takes at least three days each way, no way to get it to a third party and back in time to meet this requirement, particularly when it took longer than that to get to the buyer to start with. This seller claimed it was authentic, it clearly is not authentic, that would appear to be fraud. This is why I have launched this investigation and why this buyer is so prominently featured in this blog. It is highly unlikely, as in nearly impossible, that this plate can be shown to be authentic. It is also significant that Jeff Girardi and vintage comic... are clearly working together, this email is irrefutable proof of that. Research Center: Plate6399-Virginia-432-v1-FAKE-FANTASY-REPRODUCTION . P3247 F1247 Picture only submitted.    |
| P3254 ### Virginia enlisted belt plate, manufactured by Hanover Brass F1254 Virginia enlisted belt plate, manufactured by Hanover Brass Hanover Brass sand cast buckle. Less pits than the wax cast buckle. My plate is thicker but only way metal will flow. Source: posting on the NVRHA forum site by plateman who is Gary WilliamsEditor note: This is the Horstmann style. The casting is clearly high quality and close to accurate. What ever happened to the bold marks and strong hooks that used to be in Hanover Brass production? Research Center: Plate6399-Virginia-432-v1-FAKE-FANTASY-REPRODUCTION . P3254 F1254 Picture only submitted.    |
| 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. |
| 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. |