Belt Buckles


Hi turquoise people,
I was wondering what y’all think about these belt buckles. I’m sorry the pictures are pretty terrible. Do you think they are native american? How much should I expect to pay? I am not finding much like them online. Agian, I know it is difficult to tell much from the photos, but any advice would be great. I don’t love the cowboy, but kinda like the bear claw( i like all the silver work).It is not too fancy, but probably within my budget. :slightly_smiling_face:

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I love the horse one…never seen one like that! Would need to see the backs…any hallmarks? I would bet the claw one is NA-made. Not sure about the second.

No, there are no pictures of the backs.:slightly_frowning_face: I couldn’t find anything resembling the horse one either.

the pack horse buckle could possibly have been part of a full set story teller concho belt.

the bear claw buckle is nice but also common. plenty of them out there.

as shown, even without seeing the backs my choice would be definitely be the pack horse buckle if the price was not already in the outer limits.

The buckle with the bear claw is classic Navajo work. The style of the second one with chip inlay is what you think of as Navajo, but the story of the pack horse could suggest it is not Navajo made. Is the buckle silver?

I believe it is silver. They are at a local sale, but right now it is just the pictures posted. Assuming they are not signed how much do they usually cost? All the bear claw ones I have seen have more turquoise and coral. And I really haven’t seen much like the horse.

I had to look up story teller concho belt. Very nice! I had never seen one. I am pretty new to this!

I like the pack horse buckle. :slightly_smiling_face:

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I would see if you can submit questions, and get a weight. That is going to be very helpful in determining a value. I would also get him to verify that the horse buckle is silver.

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I can’t get any info. I will just have to show up at the sale and look at them myself. Hopefully they are marked. Not that that can always be trusted either.:frowning: Thanks anyways. If I am able to pick them up I will take pics of any markings! And clearly I need to try and get them both since everyone seems to like the horse!

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are you buying for yourself, investment or to flip?
is this an estate sale, auction, craigs list or thrift shop find?

I would guess the cowboy one has a good shot at being nickel silver, in which case similar things can sell for under $50 on eBay. The claw could be $50 -$125 or so, but it depends. There are a lot of things in this tier available on the market.

Both could be Mexican, not Native.

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Estate sale. I am buying for myself. I think I might have fun with a belt buckle. I would have to figure out how to get a belt for the buckle. I was also wondering about tarnish. I wear a lot of white and was wondering if my shirts or white jeans might get stains from the silver tarnish. I am probably way over thinking it.:crazy_face: Sometimes I end up selling jewelry in order to buy more, but I typically keep the handmade stuff.Thanks for the info!

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Thanks! I was thinking possibly Mexican too. I have no issues with Mexican silver. My favorite bracelet is a taxco silver bracelet. How do you tell Nickel silver from sterling? I know it is not silver at all. But is it magnetic?

good luck on day one of the sale.

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Nickel silver is non-magnetic.

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I had unexpected issues getting to the sale this morning. The claw buckle was gone but the horse was still there. The only mark on it was this one. I have no idea who this is. The woman running the sale said she acid tested it and it was silver.

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Did you buy the horse buckle?

No🙁 It was $300. I am not sure I am willing to pay that amount. Is that reasonable price? It was heavy and well made. I believe that it did acid test positive as silver, but are these things ever silver plated? Because that would still test positive as sterling.

Agree with your hesitation, and my response is no, not reasonable. Overpriced by the standard of what a comparable piece normally costs.
Some people don’t mind overpaying, but you asked.

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