I have always wanted to dig a CS buckle of any type, and today I was able to cross it off the list!!
I hadn't been in out in a couple weeks so I decided to head out this morning for a few hours. I went back to the spot where I found the 1851 Officer's sword belt buckle and sabre guard last month, and not 10 minutes into today's hunt, I found a pulltab LOL. And then, two feet away I scored the buckle. I immediately called a few buddies and was almost so excited I couldn't speak.
Honest to God, when I first dug it I thought it said "08"... I had never seen this style buckle so I knocked off a little dirt off and when I realized what I was looking at, I was absolutely floored. In my area there was VERY LITTLE confederate activity so this is a very significant find. I would almost have to believe this was a battlefield pickup that was carried back by a Union soldier. Unfortunately the loop broke into 2 pieces as I was pulling it from the rock hard dirt. I will be sending it off to get repaired next week!
The buckle was identified by my friend as a LEECH & RIGDON CS tongue produced in Memphis, TN. It's a rarity 8, meaning 16-30 known.
Thanks for looking!
I hadn't been in out in a couple weeks so I decided to head out this morning for a few hours. I went back to the spot where I found the 1851 Officer's sword belt buckle and sabre guard last month, and not 10 minutes into today's hunt, I found a pulltab LOL. And then, two feet away I scored the buckle. I immediately called a few buddies and was almost so excited I couldn't speak.
Honest to God, when I first dug it I thought it said "08"... I had never seen this style buckle so I knocked off a little dirt off and when I realized what I was looking at, I was absolutely floored. In my area there was VERY LITTLE confederate activity so this is a very significant find. I would almost have to believe this was a battlefield pickup that was carried back by a Union soldier. Unfortunately the loop broke into 2 pieces as I was pulling it from the rock hard dirt. I will be sending it off to get repaired next week!
The buckle was identified by my friend as a LEECH & RIGDON CS tongue produced in Memphis, TN. It's a rarity 8, meaning 16-30 known.
Thanks for looking!