This Non Excavated Confederate States General Issue, Forked Tongue Waist Belt Buckle is made of sand cast brass and measures 65 x 95 mm. There were three sizes produced as early as 1861 by Confederate Governmental contract; this is the "large” size. Rarity of the three sizes run from small, or "Baby” the rarest, to the medium, to the large size, which is the most common.

Because this plain buckle was so easy to make and use, they saw widespread use, much more so than the buckles with the letters CS found thereon. These were made and used in quantity in every theatre. In excavated condition these buckles are one of the most commonly found Confederate general issue buckles, but rarely are they encountered in this non excavated condition. Because they had not the "magic CS” letters they were not often put away by their owners or captors as souvenirs. These were so useful on the farm to repair harness or to strap something together that their belts were used up and the buckle set aside or discarded. I once excavated one along the base of a collapsed barn where it had been hung on the wall of the barn prior to its disintegration.

In Confederate Belt Buckles & Plates, Expanded Edition Steve Mullinax states that many of these have been found in the 1861-1862 Confederate winter camps. The condition of this example is flawless.