U. S. beltplate

[Beaner]

I have a U.S. beltplate I'm trying to authenticate. It has a markers mark on the back. The Maker is W Stokes Kirk, Phila Pa.. Any help would be appreciated.
Sam Billingsley
4th Tx. Co. E

[Chris Suppelsa]

Re: U. S. beltplate

I have a U.S. beltplate I'm trying to authenticate. It has a markers mark on the back. The Maker is W Stokes Kirk, Phila Pa.. Any help would be appreciated.
Sam Billingsley
4th Tx. Co. E

Puppy Paw or Arrow Back?

[Beaner]

Re: U. S. beltplate

Chris,
Here's a picture of the back.
Sam Billingsley
4th Tx. Co.E

[Charles Heath]

Re: U. S. beltplate

Sam,

If that piece ends up being one of the early reproduction plates from W. Stokes Kirk, then keep it anyway. Just don't sell it to some unsuspecting newbie for something it is not, should this turn out to be the case.

[Chris Suppelsa]

Re: U. S. beltplate

[QUOTE=Charles Heath;39378]
early reproduction plates from W. Stokes KirkQUOTE]

This is what I was leaning towards, but I'm not 100% sure

[Fenianboy]

Re: U. S. beltplate

W.Stokes Kirk was a surplus dealer In Philadelhia until the 1960's when a declining neighborhood and an assault on a store clerk caused the closing of their store.They kept a mail oder business for mostly repro stuff into the 70's. Bud Scully 13th NJ Co.K Mess

[Jimmayo]

Re: U. S. beltplate

I have never seen any hooks like that on an original.

[tomarch]

Re: U. S. beltplate

A little bit off the subject,but...Could early repro gear itself be collectable? I've got a M1855 double bag that I got used in 1987 and it about 15 yrs old when I got it (I think it was made by Roddamaker (sic)

[ScottCross]

Re: U. S. beltplate

W. Stokes Kirk was a surplus dealer in the 1950s. The brass plate itself may be original, but he fabricated the hooks and sold them for many years. They are bogus and not original, but may have some collecting value after 50 years.

[rogue]

Re: U. S. beltplate

Early repro stuff collectable? Probably so, if not now, in the near future.
When I was a member of the 104th Illinois (N-SSA) in the 1960's we bought US plates from W. Stokes Kirk for $2.00 each to use. They had the same odd hooks as shown at the head of this thread.
I have a well used Rademacher haversack that was carried by several Mudsills that could easily pass for an original. Very scarey!
Steve Sullivan
still older than Scott Cross

[Beaner]

Re: U. S. beltplate

Ok,
So the lead and hooks aren't original, but, more than likely the plate is. How can I verify this?
Sam Billingsley
4th Texas Co.E

[Charles Heath]

Re: U. S. beltplate

Sam,

Google to some of the belt plate sites, and you'll find discussions like this one:

Question: "I'm still trying to figure out what I'm missing regarding plates on eBay which I recognize (maybe incorrectly) as W. Stokes Kirk repros. Howard Crouch in "Repro Buckles of the Civil War" shows one of their dies on page 4 and says that the company manufactured both box plates and buckles (both large and small). He pictures one of their box plates as Fig. 20. The primary thing I see when I look at one of these plates is the very narrow gap between the top part of the "S" and the middle bend of the "S". MikeO said on Savage's site (March 6, '06) that he now thinks his Plate 477 is not period and is a Stokes Kirk. Anyway, on both of these auctions (the "dug" one we have discussed but I'm still bothered by it) I see that very narrow gap indicating Stokes Kirk repros. In my view the "dug" one and the undug one are identical plates. I understand that this letter style was never actually used during the Civil War. Help me out here."

Response: "The U is rounded at the bottom of this plate but on the Stokes Kirk it is flat across the bottom. I don't think they are the same maker."

I hope this helps.

[easttnfed]

Re: U. S. beltplate

Can you post a picture showing the front of the plate?

[Beaner]

Re: U. S. beltplate

Here's a picture of the plate.
Sam Billingsley
4th Texas Co. E

[easttnfed]

Re: U. S. beltplate

Thanks for posting the front view of the plate. I'll contact a collector I know and get the information from him for you.