Antique Belt Buckles
By John Sexton · Originally published May 2017 · pp. 34–35
Hi John: Thanks for your time this morning. These are the buckles that have ID tags on them. I spoke with my mother and my great grandfather was George O. W. Servis. He was a city engineer for the town of Somerville, MA. Born around 1850’s and collected these in the early 1900’s (most of the tags are dated 1911-1914). According to my mother the collection has not been added to since his passing (around 1930). Chris Dear Chris: This is really an interesting look into the collecting habits of early Civil War collectors around the turn of the 20th Century. Obviously, your great-grandfather was a serious collector based on the letters and correspondence from Richard Steuart, who was among the earliest Confederate experts and authorities. Mr. Steuart wrote some early articles on Confederate arms; the first I recall being 1912. It is really unusual to see the original tags dating when these buckles were bought in the early 20th Century for prices running from $1 to $4.25. The Virginia buckle sold by Mr. Ellis in 1914 for the highest price is actually a reproduction made for the Gettysburg tourist market. This is the first of its type with an actual date for us to know potentially how early these were being sold. Most of the other buckles have tags with potential history and three with tags bought from Dr. Charles McCauley of Hagerstown, Md. By far the rarest and most desirable buckle in this collection is the Georgia buckle bought from
Dr. McCauley March 1912 for $1. The buckle still retains its original keeper and the tag states a history of being found near Antietam Battlefield. This particular plate is a pre-war militia plate, possibly made by James Smith of New York, circa 1860. I only know of two or three other examples of this particular militia buckle. The same maker also made buckles for other states, both northern and southern, which are much more frequently encountered, such as South Carolina, Virginia, New York and Massachusetts. New York examples sell for about $300. The Georgia buckle, however, has one sales record for a non-excavated specimen that was in several prominent collections before being sold by the editor of this publication in the early-1980’s for $1,450. In today’s market, this buckle will no doubt bring multiples of this last sale price. The other buckles in the collection consist of two militia eagle buckles, one circa 1818, which sells for about $300, and a circa 1840 militia buckle similar in size and construction to the Georgia buckle, which sells also for about $300. The other eagle buckles are Model 1850 sword belt plates for both enlisted examples with the silver wreath, and officers with solid wreaths. Comparable buckles can be found in market place priced $175-275.
John is a certified appraiser with International Society of Appraisers specializing in Civil War memorabilia. He authenticates and evaluates other rare and valuable historic items as well. His website is http://www. civilwardealer.com. He is coauthor of the book Confederate Bowie Knives (2012) by Jack Melton, Josh Phillips and John Sexton, that was published by Mowbray Publishing Inc. Send “Ask The Appraiser” questions and photographs to [email protected].
