Confederate larger-size frame belt buckle with forked (or "wishbone") tongue. This pattern is one of the scarcer frame buckles. I recovered this one on private property in Orange County, Virginia in 1967. The site was where part of the Army of Northern Virginia was encamped over the winter of 1863-64. Buckle is in fine shape with no cracks or breaks. The tongue piece is fully intact. Frame has some minor bends, which is normal and expected with excavated artifacts of this type. File marks from the rough finishing seen on many wartime-produced Confederate artifacts are evident. It has its original dark brown patina from the soil, with some reddish.On the current retail/ show market, regular "relic dealers" would easily sell this buckle for $700 to $800. However, I'm not a dealer who bought it from who-knows-who who dug it who-knows-where ( maybe legally, maybe not ) and is obligated to sell at the cooked - up "fixed" prices. I've put a VERY LOW opening offer amount on here with . I will ship this free by Priority Mail. The Riker display / storage case is included. I'm a retired US Army officer with over 30 years of honorable active service, and rated as a Permanently & Totally Disabled Veteran due to wounds and injuries during my career. I also hold a Ph.D. in Military History with post-doctoral study in Military/ Battlefield Archaeology. Following my military career I taught these subjects at the university level as well as engaged in a great deal of archaeological field work until my military disabilities forced me to retire again. I also began metal detecting as a boy way back in 1961- over 56 years ago. About 2 years ago I began selling some of my extensive private collection to clear some of it out and supplement my retirement income. 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. I refuse to do business with anyone who is a retail, show, or online seller/dealer in Civil War artifacts. I've refused to have any dealings with any of those people for over 40 years ( except involvement in their criminal prosecutions or civil cases against them as an Expert Witness) so I refuse to do so on here. Further, I will not provide any additional information as to recovery locations or anything else other than what's stated here in the listing.I have a No - Return policy due to disreputable people who pulled various scams or who altered items. However, if a buyer has a VALID reason I will work with you in some cases.