Original Item: Only One Available. This federal infantry waist belt plate is the early regulation 1839 pattern oval US belt buckle and has a smooth brown patina with "puppy paws" on the reverse. The plate measures measures approximately 3.5” x 2.25”. The condition is near excellent and was not excavated (not dug up). This die-stuck specimen has the large raised letters "US" on the face and exhibits a wonderful dark bronze patina overall. The backside of the plate, complete with its brass puppy paw hooks all intact, is lead filled and still in strong condition with just a hint of surface erosion to the lead. It appears to have been lacquered, a technique popular in the middle of the 20th century to preserve historical artifacts. The face of the convex plate is edged with crisp double borders. One of the nicer examples of a early 1839 pattern we have encountered.

(Reference; "American Military Belt Buckle" by Michael J. O'Connell and J. Duncan Campbell, plate 508;"Plates and Buckles of the American Military 1795-1874" by Sydney C. Kerksis, page 34; "Accoutrement Plates North and South 1861-1865" by William G. Gavin, page 15)