O.V.M. buckles

[rainydayassembly]

hello
First of all, though I have been collecting many years, I do not consider myself an extremely knowledgable BUCKLE authority, as in, I can distinguish the different examples, but as far as authenticity, I am not a well trained eye for all of the creative scammers.
With this in mind, I purchased an OVM buckle several years ago at an annual Civil War Collector's show. It was definitely a low price, and the buyer, who seemed an honest man, had obtained it from someone else who really had no info to offer. anyway, I was hoping to gain some insight on the known standard measurements of OVM buckles, and ANY characteristics to determine authenticity. This is a rough one with just teh face, no lead back nor hooks, presumabley "dug" that way. Is this common to dig buckles like that? It sure looks real but I'm becoming increasingly paranoid as I am continually enlightened to the degrees of "fakes" that *%*^% are creating these days.
SO please, tell me all you know about OVM buckles to apply not only to my currently owned to future specimens.
and if need be, i could perhaps scan it and post, but for right now, i would just love to have some info.
thanks so much!!!!
~Cara

 

[emike123]

Maybe you can call your library and see if they can obtain for you a copy of Howard Crouch's Repro Buckles of the Civil War on interlibrary loan.

There is a new site under development to address these issues, but they haven't gotten to OVMs yet.

http://www.civilwarfakes.com/repros_e/reproshome.shtm

Also, if you post a picture and precise measurements in millimeters for opinion here or on this site:

http://www.nvrha.com/cgi-bin/confignef.pl

The absence of lead or hooks on the back is a yellow flag, but not unheard of (some old uniforms were burned resulting in lead loss and hence the hooks or CS soldiers are thought to have melted the lead out of some captured buckles for making bullets and reusing the hooks without state or union affiliation). However, you can tell a lot from the back and hooks (for example, good repro companies mark them as such even and these are eliminated when those are gone) and fakers tend to erradicate them as a result.

The measurements in mm of the OVMs in O'Donnell's plate book are:

57x89
57x90
52x78
55x86
55x87

Repros are often a tad smaller as the dies are made from real plates and the the brass shrinks in the mold as it cools.

 

[PCGeorge]

Cara, as a relic digger & collector for 30-something years, my primary advice to you would be to buy a copy of "the buckle encyclopedia" (616 pages, with large clear photos). Its title is "American Military Belt Plates" by Mike O'Donnell & Duncan Campbell. If it saves you from buying a bad plate just one time, it has more than paid for itself.

Let me also suggest you buy one directly from Mike O'Donnell himself. He'll autograph a copy for you, and ship it straight to you. He's also helpful with top-level advice on authenticating buckles & plates when you need it. If you're interested, send me a private-message for his phone number.

Regards,
Pete [PCGeorge]