This is a very cool Confederate belt buckle. This is the pattern of belt buckle used for the illustration of figure #377 on page 208 of the Confederate Belt Buckle Book by Steve Mullinax. These large rectangular belt buckle were what many of the soldiers from the Palmetto state wore in the early days of the Civil War. The stamped brass has a fantastic untouched attic patina all over. It is made of stamped brass with the original belt hook and belt bar loop present on the reverse. The face of the plate has the classic state seal design of South Carolina that depicts the palmetto tree with the "1776" down at the bottom. At the base of the tree it has the two ovals that have the South Carolina state motto on them. The motto reads "Animis Opibusque Parati" which translates as "Prepared in mind and Resources." Around the edge of the buckle it has the border with the floral border with a lined background. On the back of the buckle, it has the original keeper hook as well as the belt loop bar and both of the "teeth" for keeping the belt aligned. When I bought this buckle, I saw the initials of a name on the front but it wasn't enough to see what the name is. While I was picturing it, I saw that one the back side by the belt loop bar there is the last name clearly scratched in the brass. The front appears to be "RWM" and on the back, it is clearly marked "MAHER". Interestingly, I only found two soldiers int he whole Confederate Army with the name R.W. Maher. They both served for Georgia but had close association with South Carolina. The first soldier served with "D" Co. Georgia 12th Bn Light Artillery, and enlisted in Charleston. the second soldier was with "I" Co. Georgia 1st Battalion Local Defense Infantry from Augusta, Georgia which is on the border with South Carolina. I can't say for sure it is one of them but it almost surely is. . This is a buckle that has a ton of character.