BUFF LEATHER NCO BELT

Buff Leather NCO Belt and 1851 Buckle

This belt is made from buff leather.  Buff leather was the standard for belts.  With the demand for leather at the start of the Civil War the supply of buff leather was exhausted.  Other leather finishes were accepted.  Later in the war buff leather was avaliable for usage.   By that time rivets were being used as well.  This belt has no rivets so it dates from before the war to early in the war.  The 1851 belt plate is also an early pattern, with the 3 piece applied silver wreath.  Both the buckle and the brass keeper are stamped 177, indicating they were mated before being sewn into the belt.