Unidentified 1920 / 30’s buckle

[Marc verstraete]

Hello All,

A friend collector from Canada has send me these pictures for identification. We have not found this buckle in any reference and I have not seen it before. It has some resemblances with the Prussian Wachtmeister buckle but the eagle is totally different. The prong sleeve is marked:

P. MEYBAUER BERLIN S.W. 88

Karl? Kevin? Bill ? Christian, Any suggestions??

Marc

[Kevin Rea]

Hello Marc,
Very interesting buckle. There are some points of note. One is the maker name on the prong sleeve. Up to now, I have only seen "DRGM" stamped on a prong sleeve from a WWI private purchase buckle. The pin holding the prong bar in place also looks different. Lastly, the catch looks slightly thinner than normal with lots of brazing on it -- maybe a period repair? The buckle follows the design of the Prussian state police buckle from about 1920 to the early 30s. Although the maker is in Berlin, the double-headed eagle is obviously from a different city. The shield on the body of the eagle might offer some clues but it looks quite worn. It remains for someone more familiar with the prewar heraldry of German cities to come up with the origin of this interesting buckle.
Cheers,
Kevin





Marc[/QUOTE]

[Marc verstraete]

Hi Kevin, I see your concerns but the buckle is 100% original. The catch is OK as is the marking on the sleeve, I have seen makers name on this type of sleeve before. I also very much like the prongs / sleeve combination. This has not been faked yet.
The question remains, what is the crest for??
Marc

[Kurt Doench]

Hi Marc,

The coat of arms is that of the city of Lübeck. I saw a buckle just like it on the Weitze site at the end of 2002/beginning of 2003. I was abroad at the time and couldn't get it(plus, as I remember, it was quite pricey for an unidentified buckle). The particular pin-and-prong assembly with this marking has cropped up on Prussian police buckles. The Lübeck eagle on this one prompted me to look for city arms the "1st pattern" Prussian police might really belong to. Most towns who were historically (and I mean way before 1871) Reichsstädte had the Imperial eagle in their arms. I haven't found it yet. Christian tells me that one of his dealers had a photo of a policeman clearly wearing this buckle, but had sold it before Christian got to him (aaargh!).

Well, this is one absolutely original buckle that was intended for an official of the city of Lübeck. Nothing more I can add. For comparison, I am attaching the arms of Lübeck.

Best wishes,

Karl

[Wickie]

I had once another buckle which was similar to the prussian police buckle. But in the center was the symbol for Mecklenburg. Marc did you bougth this one from me?

Christian

[Kevin Rea]

Hello Marc,
I had no worries about the buckle's originality. I am glad the mystery is solved. Hats off to Karl!
Kevin

[Marc verstraete]

I had once another buckle which was similar to the prussian police buckle. But in the center was the symbol for Mecklenburg. Marc did you bougth this one from me?

Christian

No, did not get that one. Never seen it.
Marc

[Marc verstraete]

Hello Marc,
I had no worries about the buckle's originality. I am glad the mystery is solved. Hats off to Karl!
Kevin

Sorry Kevin, I misunderstood.

Thank you Karl , am sending the info to my friend in Canada who has no PC.

Marc

[Marc verstraete]

No, did not get that one. Never seen it.
Marc

Hi Christian, all,

This is the buckle you where talking about.

I misunderstood earlier. I thought you where talking about an eagle with Mecklenburg crest!!

Marc

[Marc verstraete]

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