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

Plate7199-Confederate-TwoPart-066-v2-FAKE-FANTASY-REPRODUCTION Confederate, two part plate, FAKE-FANTASY-REPRODUCTION Confederate two part plate, CS, Mullinax illustrations 066 and 067, artillery style This is the pattern made by Gary Williams, copied from Butch Brown plate. Butch allowed Williams to copy it, a regrettable decision. Butch did allow relicman to photograph his plate, picture is below. Research Center: Plate7199-Confederate-TwoPart-066-v2-FAKE-FANTASY-REPRODUCTION . Details click: http://relicman.com/plates/Plate7199-Confederate-TwoPart-066-v2-FAKE-FANTASY-REPRODUCTION.html

P1503 ### FP1503 CS artillery, another example Tongue keeper 65.1mm, wreath keeper 63.9mm, wreath height 48.9mmSource: This buckle was submitted to me for evaluation to purchase, by a collector with a positive reputation.Editor note: This buckle was nicely aged, this is a patina to kill for. Although presented to me by a reputable collector, he told me he had found this at a flea market, a source that would not be considered reliable. In my opinion, this plate matches F1013, I rejected it and sent it back to the seller. Further note: At the time I asked Gary Williams about this plate. He said that he did not make it but that Butch Brown knew who had. Now after seeing it show up in jaglady ebay listing, and on civil warfakes.com it is obvious that it was made by Hanover Brass, and apparently a good many of them have been aged and marketed including this one. Butch Brown dug the original plate from which this was copied. Butch has now submitted his buckle to be photographed for comparison. Note that the details are the same but the measurements are different. Why did Gary Williams claim he did not make this buckle and why did he imply that Butch was involved in the faking. This appears to be yet one more bold faced Gary Williams lie. To those of us that are not part of Gary Williams inner circle, and who try to collect authentic plates, these lies seem to be a dime a dozen, is he telling the truth, did he tell the truth on this buckle, or for that matter any of the three artillery patterns now analyzed on this page? The evidence seems to suggest otherwise. I wonder if he is telling the truth on anything. You be the judge, I present the evidence. Research Center: Plate7199-Confederate-TwoPart-066-v2-FAKE-FANTASY-REPRODUCTION . P1503 FP1503 Troy Joe

P1971-9 ### P1971 Confederate tongue and wreath buckle, CS, keepers and wreath are plain artillery style, square proportions when clasped, cast, Confederate wartime manufacture., this is the original plate.Buckle depicts CS and is a two part tongue and wreath plate used in the Confederacy. This style is noted for the unusually tall proportions giving it the appearance of nearly square proportions when both halves are assembled together. It was adapted from the earlier Federal style artillery plate, also featuring a plain unadorned wreath, but which featured much smaller rectangle proportions. Plate is thick casting, tongue disc bar is curved behind the disc, wreath has a channel. Plate measures: tongue keeper 66.8mm, wreath keeper 66.4mm, wreath 51.2mm. Recovered: Culpeper, Virginia by Butch Brown.Ref: Mullinax Expanded Edition, Plates 066 or 067.Courtesy, the collection of Butch Brown. Authenticity note. This is the original plate dug by Butch Brown. Gary Williams, Hanover Brass, was allowed to copy this, a regrettable decision. Now there are many fakes of this piece floating in the market, see the Fakes section of this website for an example. This is the original from which Gary Williams has made his many fakes, so if you see one of those floating around out there it is not going to be real, this is the real one. Research Center: Plate7199-Confederate-TwoPart-066-v2-FAKE-FANTASY-REPRODUCTION . P1971 FP1971 Butch Brown

P2648 ### Hanover Brass repro: CS two part, Artillery Style. 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 # CS2P12 Plate 067 (Artillery Style) CS Two Piece Belt Plate. 65 x 76/wreath ht.48. High copper content. Original dug by Butch Brown who still has it. Note the crooked S. The foundry crafter pressed a little off into the sand mold on most of these plates. There are a lot of helpful flaws in this plate to use. Research Center: Plate7199-Confederate-TwoPart-066-v2-FAKE-FANTASY-REPRODUCTION . Photo # CS2P12 civilwarfakes com

P3013 ### F1013 CS Artillery 2 piece Belt Buckle manufactured by Hanover Brass (Plate 067)Hanover Brass another pattern  This reproduction CS Artillery 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. A rare belt plate. Artillery style. Note how the S is positioned . The CS was positioned individually in the sand mold causing the letters not to be straight. Marked as a reproduction. Wear or display. Source: ebay auction by jaglady00 3/12/06 CS Artillery 2 piece Belt Buckle Plate Item number: 6611643287  Editor note: jaglady00 is Hanover Brass, items sold as reproductionsAdditional photos and text posted on civilwarfakes.com, (Gary Williams webpage):  Photo # CS2P12 Plate 067 (Artillery Style) CS Two Piece Belt Plate 65 x 76/wreath ht.48. High copper content. Original dug by Butch Brown who still has it. Note the crooked S. The foundry crafter pressed a little off into the sand mold on most of these plates. There are a lot of helpful flaws in this plate to use. Editor Note: Noteworthy is the crooked S which was crooked in the original. There are quite a few distinct casting flaws in this buckle that are showing up in other examples, the most obvious are the two casting sprues on the back of each keeper, as well as various other air bubbles, etc.  Research Center: Plate7199-Confederate-TwoPart-066-v2-FAKE-FANTASY-REPRODUCTION . P3013 F1013 Picture only submitted.

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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