Imperial Russian Army

JeremyN

New Member
Joined
Feb 23, 2017
Messages
23
Location
Germany
Hello again,

Once more my little field is showing its diversity.

Yesterday I popped out for a hour and amongst the usual old nails I found a nice little buckle, tentatively ID´d as Imperial Russian Army issue.

*The Imperial Russian Army was the land armed force of the Russian Empire, active from around 1721 to the Russian Revolution of 1917.*

Mine appears to be WW1 but who knows really? Could be older I guess but going on the fact that I´m not that far from the Poland border in Germany it´s most likely WW1.

It´s fairly beat up, worn a lot and is missing the clasps on the back, so far I´ve only soapy water cleaned with a toothbrush. Should I try and straighten and polish it up do you think? I kinda like it as it is but it´s tempting to give it a proper back to bare metal clean, there are odd spots on the edge that show the golden brass colour.

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Hi again Jeremy. Very cool buckle. I wouldn't try to clean it much. The old patina looks so much better. At most, maybe a soft nylon brushing to get rid of any loose surface oxidation and dirt.
I as well wouldn't try to straighten it at all. After a 100 or so years in the soil the metal gets brittle. More than likely it'd crack or split. Just enjoy displaying it as it is.
You may be able to get a closer date on it by the method of attachment on the back. It may have changed depending on the period it was made.
 
Cool find Jeremy, European/UK posts always remind us how young the USA really is!!
 
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