I have no way to fully confirm beyond my friend’s research, but they look totally legit and original.
If anyone has any more information on these buckles, that would be awesome!..
The farm I grew up on was littered with stuff like this. Bottles, belt buckles, casings, bullets etc…
I never did much research into any of it but I do know that more than likely these are Union standard issue buckles or recreations of them. Confederate stuff would have the CS instead. (Depending on the attachment type on the back it could be a cartridge box plate as well.)
The Eagle would have been worn on the chest on the belt they wore across their chest to carry ammo bags/rations/etc.
You’d have to show them to an expert to know for sure of authenticity.
If anyone is curious, I donated everything I found when growing up to museums in the area. The farm I grew up on was a minor battlefield.
I also saw the back side of these buckles. They’re authentic, there’s no way to fake the rusted out belt loop bits on the back side.
I just don’t know how to post multiple pictures on a Lemmy post. ☹️
You can edit the body of the post and add them there.
It didn’t even cross my mind at the time to get a picture of the back sides yesterday. They’re not mine though, I don’t think I’m gonna be able to get any more pictures.
There were no visible markings on the back. They have seriously rusted out steel loops that look like they were literally melted into the metal when they were molded.
A quick reverse image search suggests that they might be Civil War era. I have no greater insight than the reverse image search, though, so don’t take my word for it. I know nothing about 19th century American buckles.
