Prussian Steel Buckle -- Good or Not?

[Celduin]

Hello everyone,

I bought this steel WWI Prussian belt buckle at a gun show today.



There seems to be good patina throughout. I scrubbed some light surface rust from the obverse with some 0000 steel wool. The crown and emblem look acceptable...



...but the catch for the belt-prong is attached weirdly to the buckle. The attachment is strong, but I've never seen anything quite like it.

Do you think that this buckle is genuine?

[pzrwest]

Never ever ever use steel wool or any other abrasives on artifacts!!!!

[Chip M]

There doesn't appear to be any paint left on it. A shame, as this is a common buckle and you can still find examples with most of their original paint for about $45.

Chip

[Celduin]

pzrwest: Yes, I'm quite aware. That's why I only used the finest steel wool (0000-grade) to remove the slight surface rust. 0000 is fine enough to use on wooden gunstocks, so mangling the steel shouldn't be much of an issue.

Chip M: Weren't some of the WWI steel buckles made without a coat of paint?