Confederate CS2-piece tongue & wreath belt buckle. This is one of the various \"Virginia\" designs. This particular type is known as an \"Exaggerated Serifs\" or \"Large Serifs\" because of the bulges on the serifs of the letters CS. \"Virginia\" buckles are known as such because they\'re almost exclusively recovered in locations connected with the Army of Northern Virginia.This pattern is in Mullinax, Plate 006. I recovered this one on a friend\'s farm near the town of Gordonsville in Orange County, VA in 1988. Both parts were recovered within a few feet of one another. I NEVER \"marry\" pieces from different artifacts -- if I\'m not as certain as I can possibly be that the parts originally belonged together, they stay separate.

The buckle is in fine shape with no holes, cracks, or breaks. I believe it\'s made of either copper or high-copper brass. It has a dark-brown ground patina, with some lighter coloring.Although EVERY wartime Confederate-made buckle and plate varies somewhat, this particular example isof lighter constructionthan others I\'ve recovered of this type. For this reason I believe it was manufactured later in the war and/or the acidic soil thinned it out. The belt loop on the wreath portion is bent but not cracked or broken. The Riker display/ storage case is included. I will ship this FREE by Priority Mail.

On the regular market a buckle of this type, in this condition, would go for about $4,000-$5,000. But this is and I\'m not a retail dealer with a bunch of money invested in it. I am listing it with a very low opening offer and .

I never sold any of my recovered artifacts until acouple of monthsago (not even a bullet.) I\'ve been metal detecting since 1961- over 55 years. I\'m retired from the US Army and am rated as a Permanently & Totally Disabled Veteran due to wounds and injuries received on Active Duty. I also have a Doctorate (Ph.D.) in Military History and postdoctoral study in field archaeology. I pursued this profession for a long time. I decided to finally list some of my private items for sale to supplement my fixed income and clear out some of the little \"treasures\" I\'ve accumulated throughout my very active life.All excavated artifacts I sell were recovered legally. Due to some incidents in which I provided written statements to buyers, supposedly for their own records but actually intended to jack up the prices when they resold the items, then trying to get me in the middle of their transactions, I must decline to do so or provide any information beyond what\'s in the listing. buyers/ buyer must be aware that this is an excavated historical artifact that is over 150 years old. It is delicate and should not be handled, carried around, or played with. It has already been as cleaned, washed, brushed, etc as it should be, according to professional/ academic archaeological preservation standards. No additional \"cleaning\" of any type should be undertaken. Further, any alteration to the condition of the item, no matter how slight - under Federal law and the policies of both and Paypal -- voids all return/ refund options. Before I offered anything for sale I heard horror stories of the harassment, threats, and terror tactics of the retail dealers and their cronies against people like me who refuse to do business with them. This has proven to be true. HOWEVER- EVERY HIGH-VALUE ITEM I EVER BOUGHT FROM A RETAIL \"EXPERT\" DEALER TURNED OUT TO BE A FAKE!!! AND THE ONLY FAKES I EVER GOT SCAMMED ON WERE BOUGHT FROM THESE SO-CALLED \"EXPERTS,\" \"BATTLEFIELD HISTORIANS,\" OR WHATEVER OTHER MADE-UP TITLE THEY GIVE THEMSELVES!!! Some even came with \"Letters Of Authenticity\" from another so-called \"expert.\" For many years I\'ve adamantly refused to sell to them, consign thru them, or be associated with any of them in any way. I\'ve been called as an Expert Witness against a number of them in their civil and criminal trials in State and Federal Courts for their slimy activities. I will be listing a number of Civil War artifacts for sale this week so check my other sales!