Article about: Hi Adam, I think you're right as it would seem logical. Also being that these buckles are unpainted it would seem they come from a period before it was common practice to paint all steel buc
Hi, all. Just thought I would share this lot of buckles (disregard the eagles for now.) To my mind and tastes, the SA and Imperial buckles are quite interesting and I believe both are quite rare buckles.
The SA is, I believe, a brass, washed roundel counterpart to the DRGM (Deutsches Reich Gebrauchsmuster/German Reich Registered Design) "steel back" buckle that David shows in this very excellent thread from a while back:
It would appear to my eyes the very same otherwise undocumented design of eagle and swastika as well as a new variation. There are some excellent points and questions raised in the thread David started and perhaps this one can revisit and build upon it towards further discussion. A very interesting buckle indeed and one that I am very excited about!
Secondly, I believe the Imperial Prussian might be a rare transitional buckle circa 1915. It would seem to me to be a steel box with a "stand out" pewter roundel. DUJAILAH (Richard) shows a very similar buckle on P.10 of the Imperial German Buckles thread (which in itself and its entirety an excellent reference) and has given some great information. If I am correct, then as Richard has stated this transitional type 2-piece steel buckle came between the move from the 2-piece brass to all steel buckles. Apparently pewter as a soft metal was found to be easily damaged.
Lastly, the Luftwaffe buckle is nice, although not of the most interest to me at the moment. I am not sure about authenticity, although I think it is probably good. Perhaps someone can give a thumbs up or down on this one and possibly identify the maker.
Perhaps some of the Imperial gentlemen will see this and comment as well. Of course, all comments, opinions and thoughts are most welcome and greatly appreciated!
Hi Adam, yeah the imperial looks like a transitional one (steel body & pewter roundal). It looks the same as my one in the imperial thread; but it has its tab. Nice buckle. Only the 2nd one i've seen, cheers, Richard.
I like especially the DRGM-SA and these are indeed hard to find.
The transitional two-piece Prussian buckle is not overly rare, scarce or whatsoever. I would say it is just a less common buckle. I have attached a similar piece for comparison wich I gave once to my brother.
Hi Guido, very, very nice buckle Can I also be your brother!!! I agree with you that 2 piece steel buckles (like the one you've shown) aren't that rare. But the one that Adam has shown is different as it has a pewter roundal. I believe that pewter roundals on steel bases are very unusual if not rare. I wonder if any other member has one they could show us, Cheers, Richard.
Pewter roundels or whole WWI buckles of this material are of course quite unusual. Are we sure that the Prussian buckle shown by Adam bears a pewter roundel?
Hi brother Guido, Adams buckle looks identical to mine (see below #120). The steel body is unpainted as is the pewter roundal which has a darker grey apperance, Cheers, Richard.
Thank you for the replies and I'll try to take some of my own photos soon. I'm nearly certain that the roundel on the Imperial is Pewter. My dad, who collects pewter antiques (albeit mostly American and British) saw this one in-person and said he thought it was indeed pewter.
Perhaps I am wrong, but am I correct in thinking that the all pewter buckle maybe preceeded this pewter roundel on steel body combination? If so, and because the pewter was found to be less than robust it seems curious that they kept the pewter roundel. I think Richard makes and excellent speculation that perhaps they were trying to "use up" these roundels which themselves don't have any stress applied to them from the belt rig. Perhaps a middle stage in the transition from all pewter to all steel?
A Very Interesting Lot of Buckles
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