This two-piece sword belt buckle bears the State Seal of Georgia upon its tongue disc. The seal shows an arch supported by "Wisdom, Justice, Moderation" and guarded by a soldier in arms. Just before the War, Georgia’s leaders cast "moderation” to the wind and the other two pillars collapsed during the War. Georgia’s citizen soldiers did their utmost to defend their three founding principles, though in the end, all three were crushed.

All of the Southern States had plates bearing their own state seal except for Tennessee and Missouri. The Georgia buckle is one of the rarer state seals, Virginia, South Carolina and Louisiana having the most. The proliferation of state seals corresponded to how long the state had been organized, which corresponded with wealth. The wealthy sons of planters and gentlemen could afford to be in the pre War state armies and afford the best of uniforms and accoutrements. The officer who wore this in all probability hailed from the larger cities of Georgia, where the per capita wealth of white Georgians in 1860 was nearly double that of New Yorkers or Pennsylvanians. *

This plate corresponds with plate 233 in Steve Mullinax’s Confederate Belt Buckles and Plates, Expanded Edition and measures 83 by 51 mm.

Except for the higher areas that were more exposed to wear, the plate retains most of its original gilt. It retains several inches of its original belt.

I have been collecting and dealing in Confederate antiques for a little over forty years now, and I have owned six cast Georgia two piece buckles in that time, but this is the first example I have ever had of the rare die stamped version.

The buckle is in perfect condition and could not be improved upon; flawless!