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Buckles & Plates -
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_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ JANUARY 24th - NEW!!! - Wonderful "W.H. Smith" Marked U.S. Box Plate Found Along Antietam Creek Near Burnside's Bridge - Beautiful With Both Loops!      I acquired this beautiful box plate from a man who had relatives who lived upon the Antietam Battlefield
for many years (going back to the early 20th century) before the property was purchased by the National Park. This plate
was found on the banks of Antietam Creek at an old swimming hole, called by locals "Molly's Hole",
which is just downstream from Burnside's Bridge. At that time, the area where the plate was found was
private property. This box plate is in absolutely wonderful condition - probably because of the damp soil around the
creek and the low-oxygen conditions that would have resulted. Except for a few small spots of dirt and a light coat
of rust on the loops, it looks like a non-dug plate. The plate is marked "W.H. Smith
Brooklyn". There is just a tiny bit of lead missing along the edge at the top of the plate at center and
left as you look at the back. There is a tiny dent on the rim on the right side, but the plate is in no way
bent or uneven. Some of the letters in the maker's mark are worn, probably from use, and there are a couple
marks on the face also from period use. This is a really gorgeous Antietam plate that I was going
to keep in my collection, but have chosen to sell in order to cover some recent additions! I will include a letter, signed
by me, noting this provenance. The riker case with tag put on the back by the original owner will also be included.
Item Number - A053 Price - $345.00  -
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Very Nice Clipped Corner Sheet Brass Confederate Belt Plate Recovered from a Camp Near the Gulf Coast of Texas -
   This fairly heavy Confederate sheet brass clipped corner buckle was recovered from a Civil War camp near the Gulf Coast of Texas. It is missing the attachment hooks, as is typical with these, but three attachment marks on the back are obvious. It is made of sheet brass and measures 3 9/16 x 2 7/16 inches (90 x 60 mm). The plate has a nice pleasing relatively even chocolate / red patina. It has a slight bend and appears to have seen heavy use as there are period wear marks on the face. It was recovered by a Texas gentleman (on private property, with permission), who is now elderly, who was one of the first to hunt many Texas Civil War sites. This is a really nice Confederate Texas relic!!! This item may be seen in case 63 at the Antique Center of Gettysburg. - - Inventory Number - R018 Price - $215.00 - REDUCED TO $145.00 -
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Texas Confederate Camp Recovered U.S. Belt Plate with the Lead Melted Out! -
  This is a very neat item that was found in a Confederate camp near the Gulf Coast of Texas. It is a U.S. Belt Plate with the brass hook device still attached to the back that has been splt down the middle so that the lead could be melted away, possibly for making bullets. There is still a small amount of lead present, but you can see the effects of the melting, and there are other black marks on the back indicating fire. Also, the puppy paw studs are gone. It seems likely to me, although I cannot verify it, that this was an early war Confederate supply capture, possibly from one of the U.S. forts in Texas, that was put to a more practical use by the poorly supplied Confederates. This was recovered by a Texas gentleman (on private property, with permission), now elderly, who was the first to hunt many Civil war sites in Texas. This item may be seen in case 63 at the Antique Center of Gettysburg. - - Inventory Number - R016 Price - $85.00 - REDUCED - NOW $70.00 -
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