popular belt buckle for review -please HELP

[Kornel R.]

I would like to hear some more opinions more experienced collector colleagues about this Prussian M 95 belt buckle .
I don't have any problems with this one , but a young collector fellow which bought it for just few Euro in Ireland on a local flea market was very criticized on one of the Polish forums . It was buried in a metal box full of mixed historic buttons , too cheap even for the buttons and obviously made an impression as unopened for years .
one self-assumed belt buckle guru can't accept the fact of different belt hook underneath .
After all I think is just another M95 model ( original , not only because of pretty good quality and low value ) from the late production , maybe from the time of introducing M15 buckles , that's why the hook has another , unusual look for this kind of the buckle and typical for M15 and even more for M16 .
Please tell me what do you think about it .
best friendly regards
Kornel
ps. sorry to bother you gents with unimportant , maybe even trivial problem .
It is the matter of friend's reputation

[Kornel R.]

more pics.

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[Kornel R.]

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I forgot to tell , that the body looks like brass anodized steel is just made of brass - like regular M 95 but this hook - that's why somebody can't believe about it's originality.
Again I think it's one of the many VersuchsmodelS before steel buckles .

[Kornel R.]

???

Anybody ?

[Kornel R.]

don't you have any opinion about it ? please

[Chip M]

Kornel,

I am no expert when it comes to buckles and the reproductions keep getting better, but I think what we have to do first is ignore the aging and just purely consider the attributes.

I am not aware of this type of buckle body with the indented ring on the reverse being reproduced. That doesn't mean anything other than I have not heard that it has been identified as a feature that repros can have.

The Steghülse type prong assembly did not appear until well into 1916. Due to the shortages of Buntmetall, it is highly doubtful that any brass buckles were still being made by then. The prongs are also cut in a way that is commonly seen on reproductions. They were cut to a point as if by a pair of nippers, so that one edge is longer than the rest. It is almost hidden by the rust, buy you can still see it. The extreme rusting of this part also bothers me in comparison to the rest of the buckle. Obviously, steel corrodes much faster than brass, but the reproduction prongs are normally un-coated and rust very quickly under the right conditions.

This style of catch is also normally thought of as a wartime development for steel buckles.

Your theory about the buckle being either a "Versuchs" or transitional pattern really doesn't hold up under the timeline of events in the evolution of the wartime buckle.

Best regards,
Chip

[Kornel R.]

thank you !

Chip thank you very much for your I believe right opinion .
I was too blind ( and too little experienced ) trying to make too much explanation (forcing my theory ) to put these not matching puzzle together (forcing my wrong theory ) .
They were two negative voices I just didn't want to listen , maybe because one has always very arrogant attitude , which I don't like and try to don't agree for almost any cost .
Now is time , to say "I'm sorry , I was wrong " , grow up and start to study any more or less unusual pieces .
thanks again
best friendly regards
Kornel