Imperial German Grey Steel Belt & Buckle, interesting sewing holes?

[Lenny Warren]

(APOLOGIES, ORIGINALLY POSTED IN IMPERIAL SECTION BUT NOBODY REPLIED, WONDERING IF ALL THE BELT/BUCKLE GUYS ARE IN HERE?)

Hi guys,

Just picked this up from one of my contacts, I'm very happy with it, been in his collection for over 20 years. Grey painted imperial buckle, 1916 dated tab on an earlier belt with brass hook. Belt is stamped with what seems to be...

BA X1X 10

which I'm reading as "Clothing Store 19th Army Corps 1910" would that be about right?

Also the belt has what appears to be strange sewing holes, any ideas? I'm wondering if a hanger was sewn on at one time for a side arm or ?????

Cheers,
Lenny

[Ben Evans]

Hi Lenny, sorry but canot really help you with the markings, nice set though the stitching holes could be where siomething else was sewn on, maybe a bayonet frog?

[Lenny Warren]

Cheers Ben, yeah it's a weird one.. will need to trawl through my period photos I reckon...

[DUJAILAH]

Hi Lenny, nice set Try posting in the 'Sticky' Imperial Buckle thread. You should get a better response as the chaps who've posted will get email alerts. I must admit I'd missed your original post Cheers, Richard.

[HERVEPARIS]

Hello,

the marking on the leather belt "B.A. XIX" surely stands for Bekleidungs Amt (clothing depot) of the 19th Army Corps, which is a saxon corps with its headquarters in Leipzig

Thus, the original buckle matching the belt must have been a saxon one, not the prussian buckle shown on the picture

The belt was made by reusing another worn leather equipment, the traces of former stitching is very clear

Numerous equipments were reused in the german army at that time, such as P08 holsters made with former Reichsrevolver holsters, for example

[Lenny Warren]

Many many thanks for that, appreciated. Do you think I should seperate them and find a Saxon buckle for this belt? I know they have been together for about 20 years but who knows when they were put together, maybe war time, maybe later???

What do folk do in a situation like this???

[DUJAILAH]

Hi Lenny, I feel it's personal choice really; but if it was me I'd replace it with an M95 Saxon, Cheers, Richard.

[Lenny Warren]

Hi Lenny, I feel it's personal choice really; but if it was me I'd replace it with an M95 Saxon, Cheers, Richard.

Cheers Richard, I don't have a M95 Saxon so will keep them together at the moment. I'm presuming if during the war you needed a belt, you got one from where you could. It might not be textbook, but there is a chance it's been like this since the war. Apparently the friend I got it from has had it for 20 years, but before that it had been in a very old collection. Who knows, but overall I'm happy with it...

Of course if you wanted to send me that M95 saxon???? hahahahahaha....

[DUJAILAH]

Hi Lenny, yeah, I agree that it's possible the buckle could have been swapped over during the war. If it was reissued it could have quite easily happened.

Sadly I don't have any spare M95 Saxons to send you at the momentlol There have been quite a few nice unit marked M95 Saxons on eBay recently,

Cheers,

Richard.

[CCMJR]

This belt was originally a cavalry Säbelkoppel and as Herveparis indicates, was reworked at some point, having the attached sword strap removed and the keeper changed to the pattern for the box buckle. So, I don't find it out of the question, that upon repair it was reissued with a Prussian buckle. The original buckle would have been an open faced, brass mounted troops buckle anyway.

Regards,
CCMJR