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-v3-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, with ring around the letters, Original plate, item P0897 is photographed. The original plate was tongue only, at the time the tongue was copied, Hanover Brass used a wreath from another pattern. A wreath was eventually married to this buckle, this was done after the piece was photographed. So only the tongue will match, the wreath used by Hanover Brass came from a different buckle. Research Center: Plate7199-Confederate-TwoPart-066-v3-FAKE-FANTASY-REPRODUCTION . Details click: http://relicman.com/plates/Plate7199-Confederate-TwoPart-066-v3-FAKE-FANTASY-REPRODUCTION.html

P3347 ### F1347 CS two part artillery style bucklePicture submitted by Wallace MarkertEditor note: My understanding is that the ownership chain of this buckle is:Robert SandridgeDennis CoxTerry HammondsWallace MarkertDon BilesLarry Hicklen (consignment seller, plate not purchased.This buckle was initially traded at the Richmond show several years ago, Dennis Cox brought it to the show, and at the end of the show, it was owned by Markert and was under negotiation by Biles. Biles then bought it soon after the show. It was extensively analyzed at that time. Several independent opinions were obtained from collectors at the show including, Mike O'Donnell, Steve Mullinax, Larry Hicklen, Lewis Leigh, Harry Ridgeway and others. In addition, Gary Williams was present at the show and he assured several of these collectors that he had not made the buckle and that it was a good piece. Specifically, Steve Mullinax requested that assurance as a condition of his due diligence before he would agree to prepare a letter authenticating the buckle. In 2007 Don Biles consigned it to Larry Hicklen, Hicklen then photographed the Mullinax letter and endorsed it. The picture of the letter was taken from Mid Tennessee webpage and is submitted by Wallace Markert.Don Biles is now claiming that he has information that the plate is bad, here is his assertion: I have spoken with Gary Williams and he has confirmed making it. Prior to and Since speaking with him, I have also received pictures, letters, documentation about this plate, the history of it, where it went after Gary's manufacture, additional contact info on ownership, etc. I have spent a lot of time researching the facts on this bogus plate.11) Here are the facts: a) It was made by Gary Williams and I have a letter in writing stating such. b) The plate was made from a master. The master has the same casting flaws as this fake plate. c) Nature would allow for 2 maybe 3 identical casting flaws, but certainly not over 9 visible in pictures alone. Gary Williams has posted the following posts on his civilwarfakes.com forum: Artillery CS 2-piecePosted By: Gary Williams Date: Friday, 18 May 2007, at 7:23 p.m.I think you should study CS2p55 page 6 and plain cstp34 page 4 before you buy any for sale. compare the casting flaws on both buckles and read the information several times. Re: Artillery CS 2-piecePosted By: Gary Williams Date: Monday, 21 May 2007, at 5:58 a.m.In Response To: Artillery CS 2-piece (Gary Williams)You may not think you can see how they are the same but that Artillery buckle on the site for sale is made up from cardboard letters. It is a fake and it was made for a person that i will name in court if it goes there. I don't care if you have a letter from Jesus it's fake. FakesPosted By: Gary Williams Date: Saturday, 2 June 2007, at 5:48 a.m.Ridgeway is now saying that John Turner, Sandridge who he just put on the list and Mullinax is a crook, and on and on. I knew from the start that this $12,000 fake buckle would go to court. It needs to go to court and there will be a lot of other dealers there also. This relic business is full of every kind of fake and big bucks are being made from them. When you tell a couple who are never wrong, they explode. Both just made a bad call on a buckle sale and a long time collector had to return the money. The buckle was looked at this week by one of the best in the relic collecting business and said it was 100% good. The two that said it was fake said I faked it. There you go.   Research Center: Plate7199-Confederate-TwoPart-066-v3-FAKE-FANTASY-REPRODUCTION . P3347 F1347  Picture only submitted.

P2691 ### Hanover Brass repro: CS two part, Fantasy, 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 # CS2P55 Plate 066/068 (Fantasy) ( Artillery Style Two Piece belt Plate.) 67 x 76/wreath ht.52mm. My son made this CS Artillery two piece by cutting the CS out of cardboard and gluing it to the plain center. We did this before I copied an original for a master pattern. The flaw is the letter style. Also on the plain wreath, there are vice marks at the bottom of the belt bar. The person filing the original wreath put a little to much strength on the vice and marked the belt bar. Look closely and you will have no problem seeing this. It is also on the Plain Artillery two piece I cast because it is the same belt plate used to make this CS . Very few of this type were cast but I have seen one sell for a lot of money. Never was one like this one. I cast the Artillery CS now from my master made from an original. This buckle has been aged but only for display. The color will come off if handled a lot. It is in the Charles Burnette collection. Research Center: Plate7199-Confederate-TwoPart-066-v3-FAKE-FANTASY-REPRODUCTION . Photo # CS2P55 civilwarfakes com

P2691-9 ### 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 # CS2P55 Plate 066/068 (Fantasy) ( Artillery Style Two Piece belt Plate.) 67 x 76/wreath ht.52mm. My son made this CS Artillery two piece by cutting the CS out of cardboard and gluing it to the plain center. We did this before I copied an original for a master pattern. The flaw is the letter style. Also on the plain wreath, there are vice marks at the bottom of the belt bar. The person filing the original wreath put a little to much strength on the vice and marked the belt bar. Look closely and you will have no problem seeing this. It is also on the Plain Artillery two piece I cast because it is the same belt plate used to make this CS . Very few of this type were cast but I have seen one sell for a lot of money. Never was one like this one. I cast the Artillery CS now from my master made from an original. This buckle has been aged but only for display. The color will come off if handled a lot. It is in the Charles Burnette collection. Research Center: Plate7199-Confederate-TwoPart-066-v3-FAKE-FANTASY-REPRODUCTION . Photo # CS2P55 civilwarfakes com

P3303 ### CS artillery two-part P3303 ### (F1303) ### CS artillery two-part Research Center: Plate7199-Confederate-TwoPart-066-v3-FAKE-FANTASY-REPRODUCTION . P3303 F1303 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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