Confederate CS 2-piece tongue & wreath belt buckle with pointed serifs on the letters. This is one of a number of types grouped together as Virginia Style\" because they\'re usually recovered from areas associated with the Army of Northern Virginia. I recovered this one in 1976 on private property at the site of a large Confederate encampment in Orange County, Virginia not far from the town of Gordonsville. It was very close to the old Orange & Alexandria Railroad line, which was a key transportation and supply link during the Civil War. A great deal of activity took place around there throughout much of the war.Buckle has a fine dark-brown patina from the soil. Whitish spots on the back of the wreath are neutralized green corrosion (verdigris.) Belt loops are bent but no breaks or cracks. There is surface pitting from soil acidity. Note the small round casting vents and file marks evident on each piece and the casting flaws on the back of the wreath- typical of Confederate wartime production. The Riker display / storage case is included. I\'ve put a VERY LOW opening offer amount on here with . I will ship this free by Priority Mail. On the current regular retail/ show market, this buckle would quickly and easily sell for around $2,700 to $3,000. Possibly more. But this isn\'t retail and I\'m not a retail dealer who bought it from someone else and has to turn a profit. Please note that I RARELY state dimensions in my listings, and even less often in millimeters. This is especially true for Confederate artifacts. The reasons are very simple. First, the dimensions noted in reference books apply ONLY to THE item in THAT photo. Period. Second, NO -- repeat, NO -- buckles and buttons used in the Civil War were manufactured using metric measurements, with the exception of a few made in France. BUT- the metric system at that time was NOT the SAME as today. It wasn\'t standardized as we know it now until the 1960s! Third, aside from a few highly specialized professions (engineers, scientists, etc) it would\'ve been very difficult to find anyone in what was the US of 1860 who\'d ever HEARD of a millimeter, much less one who had a good idea what it was. In short, people who get all hung-up on precise millimeter measurements in regard to artifacts from the Civil War period are wasting time and effort on a subject that is TOTALLY IRRELEVANT. This includes many of the self-proclaimed \"experts\" out there. Basically, the whole confusing nonsense resulted from people who didn\'t have a grip on the historical context of the period (i.e., amateurs, not trained, professional historians) putting data in books that did not apply. If this ticks some people off, I really don\'t care- it\'s the truth. I never sold any of my recovered artifacts until about 18 months ago (not even a bullet.) I\'ve been metal detecting since 1961- 56 years now. 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 and taught at university level until my army - connected physical issues forced me to retire again (mostly!) 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 instances in which I provided written statements to buyers with detailed information, allegedly for their own records but actually used to get more money when they resold the items, and/or they and their buyers started trying to get me involved in their transactions, or they used the information to trespass and loot on private property (my own property several times, as well as some belonging to relatives and friends.) About half of the guys who got caught and prosecuted were \"reputable\" retail/show dealers with the rest being guys who looted and then sold, no questions asked, to \"reputable\" retail dealers. I will not provide any further information than what\'s stated in the listing. Additionally, no retail or show dealer, or anyone who sells on a private website, is welcome. I\'ve refused to have any dealings with any of those people for over 40 years (except involvement in their criminal prosecutions or as an expert witness against them in civil litigation) and won\'t do business with them on . Also, as far as locations, most of my artifacts were recovered between 30 and 55 years ago. I\'m not a young man, and in many cases I have to rely completely on whatever I happened to write in my logbooks at the time. Further, keep in mind that modern whiz-bang hi-speed stuff like GPS, cellphones, digital cameras, personal computers and the internet didn\'t exist back then, so in many cases -- unless I happened to have had a topo map of the area and could record the military grid coordinates -- I simply don\'t remember the EXACT spots. In many I do, but nowhere near all of them. 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. There are a few distinct types of people out there who swing metal detectors and excavate artifacts. The first are the ones who recover something and ask themselves, \"What can we learn from this?\" The second are the people whose first thought is, \"What\'s it worth?\" The first group are responsible people who care about history. The second are -- in effect -- looters of history. And then there are the worst. The REALLY despicable ones who LITERALLY loot (steal) artifacts from private property without permission, from professional archaeological project sites, from public lands and other protected sites (even Battlefield Parks.) Some even stoop so low as to dig up the graves of Civil War soldiers in cemeteries, hoping they were buried in their uniforms! Look in the mirror and ask yourself which one you are.I state that I don\'t accept refunds because some dishonest folks have wanted refunds for unacceptable reasons, such as damaging or altering the artifacts. Or because they\'re pulling a scam. Or because they spent the grocery money. Or the wife got mad. Or due to Transaction Interference by some disreputable people. But- if you have a VALID reason, please contact me promptly and I\'ll do my best to work with you. I will be listing a number of Civil War artifacts for sale this week so check my other sales!