It has been brought to my attention that Allen Gaskins of NC Relics.com has sold a fake, claiming that it came from me. Ie.. NC Relics.com item number 5979, CS 2 Piece Buckle where he says it came from "Shannon Pritchard arthur (sic) of Collecting the Confederacy".

I have never seen this faked Hanover Brass reproduction before now. It is likely that he has sold others, so if you have purchased a buckle from Allen Gaskins at NCRelics.com and it was claimed that it was purchased from me, or that I had looked at it and said it was good, please contact me for confirmation.

While it is not my business to police the buckle world, when fakes are being sold with my name attached, I have no option but to expose the faker.

Please do not buy anything from Allen Gaskins or NCRelics.com that he claims came from me, or claims that I authenticated unless he has a GENUINE authentication report from me.

If you have purchased a buckle from Allen Gaskins/NCrelics.com and need it authenticated, please contact me.

UPDATE BELOW

This has garnered more interest than any listing I have ever posted; it is my first "viral” post.

And I am continually being asked for more details, so instead of having to give the details over and over again, I will present the whole story here.

I was contacted by a collector who sent me pictures of this buckle and who told me that Allen Gaskins claimed on his website that it came from me. It was obvious from the pictures that the buckle was a fake and not even a very good fake, but plainly a fake.

I quickly went to the NCRelics site and looked at the listing. To find that such an obvious fake had been posted for some time with my name attached to it of course made me furious.

I called Allen and he insisted that he got it from me, that he remembered purchasing it from me at Gettysburg for $2750.00. I said "Allen, I was not at Gettysburg” And he replied that it was 7-8 years ago. I remonstrated and told him there was no way that I ever sold such a fake looking piece of crap, but he insisted it was so. He had no receipt for it, nor did he have the report that I include with everything but the most trivial. I pointed out to him that he frequently has me write COA’s on buckles that he bought from others, so certainly if he bought it from me, he would have gotten one from me? He had no answer for this other than "well I didn’t” But still insisted that had purchased it from me.

I do far too much business to keep track of by "memory” so I use Quickbooks Accounting Software. Everything I buy, and everything I sell is recorded in it. So, I sent him a copy of his purchases from me and there is no listing for a CS Two Piece or any listing for $2750.00, yet in the face of this he still insisted he purchased it from me.

I have known Allen for decades, and at that time I had not known Allen to be a liar or thief and he seemed so convinced of what he was saying that I assumed that he was going senile and really believed what he was saying though I knew it was not true.

He did not ask for a refund, but I knew that if he believed he had purchased it from me he would always think ill of me even though it was not true. Thinking him a confused but honest man, I was not willing to sacrifice his good opinion of me over mere money, so I volunteered to send him $2,750.00 on one condition. That condition was that he destroy the buckle, and then send it to me.

The reason that I made this stipulation was because I viewed this as an issue of senility, and if he, himself did not destroy the buckle, he may see a buckle in the future and confuse it with this buckle and think that I had sold it to some unsuspecting collector. That would put me right back where I was, with him thinking I had done something underhanded, which I would not willingly allow.

He agreed to this stipulation. I sent him a check, he lost it, so I sent him another check.

Here is an exact reproduction of the letter that I sent to him along with a copy of his purchases from me:

"Allen Gaskins

400 N KINSTON AVE,

ATLANTIC BEACH NC 28512

Allen,

I want to be clear, I do not question your integrity, only your memory. Though you never asked for it, I am enclosing my check for $2,750.00. Not for that fake buckle, but just because you implied that I denied selling it to you because of the money. I want you to clearly understand, I don’t care about the money. By the blessing of God it is pocket change to me. My integrity means far more to me than money. Hopefully this will clearly demonstrate to you that I do not care about the money.

You have confused that buckle with a buckle that I sold you, (you tell me it was 7-8 years ago, and you expect me to believe you keep track of it that long?) Whether it is because someone switched it on you, or because your mind it playing tricks on you does not matter, the fact is that you are confused. On my worst day I would not buy or sell such an obviously fake buckle.

You say I sold it to you but you did not bother to get a letter from me? You get letters from me for buckles that you do not even buy from me, but you did not get a letter for one you supposedly bought from me? But you never could remember to give me the first refusals you promised?

I have a record of every item that I have bought or sold going back to 2009, and below you will find a copy of every item that I have ever sold you, not a one of them was for $2.750.00. You will also find a picture of the fake you claim that I sold you. You have besmirched my name for a buckle you never bought from me. Shame on you.

I appreciate that Becky stood up for your honor. Good woman. But I never said but that you were not honest, just confused. I told B… B… the same thing. I do believe that you believe you got this from me, but you did not.

Cash my check after you destroy the buckle and send it to me ONLY SEND IT DESTROYED (emphasis in original)

Sincerely,

Shannon Pritchard”

At that time, I still thought he was just senile and was honest. A couple of weeks went by, and he had not sent the buckle, so I contacted him again and he sent it, but he did not destroy it before sending. So, I wrote to him explaining that I would to send it back, have him destroy it as he agreed, and send it back to me. (Him destroying it was essential, so he could never claim that I sold it) This he absolutely refused to do, in a most belligerent tone.

Afterward, he wrote me back, "u could sell it again”(which texts I have saved, should anyone wish to read them at a show) and went on to write a very ignorant, belligerent diatribe about what a great guy he was, but of course without addressing the fact that he refused to honor his word and destroy the buckle. I then wrote him and went over our agreement in full; I told him I have it in writing, and if he did not keep his word, that I would hold him accountable and share this transaction with everyone, at every show. And I am keeping my word.

In the photos I have added I show the buckle after I destroyed it. I have also posted the record of the items that I have sold him over the years. Note that there are no items priced at $2,750.00

The many responses I have received since the original posting, along with the "u could sell it again” from Gaskins, and the fact that he would not keep his word have convinced me that senility is not the problem.

Here is a sample of the messages and emails that I have received:

"I am telling you either Alan is VERY VERY senile or a very well calculated thief, that same add, word for word was listed on a real buckle a little over a year ago. I texted you the inventory number and said I was going to buy it. Well someone beat me to the punch and bought it later that day. I noticed several months ago this fake buckle appeared on his site with the same description coming from you small piece belt etc. I even called Alan back then when he was selling the real one and said "how big of the section of belt do you have it is not pictured here". I remember vividly it was the first time that I spoke to you on the phone I had just got ripped off by Robert E on an Ebay buckle and wanted to confirm the buckle thats also when you told me all your COA'S have a raised signature and you explained to me what the little adjuster lug is used for. But that was a real buckle and not the same one pictured here.”