Prussian M 14s

[Daniel Murphy]

Since this is the earliest piece I will start of with it. This is a Prussian Telegraphers belt buckle. It has quite a bit of the original gray finish.

Dan

[Daniel Murphy]

Reverse. Note the construction is like a M95 but in steel c. 1915.

Edited August 26, 2006 by Daniel Murphy

[Daniel Murphy]

This is a private purchase M14 for a NCO or One Year Volunteer. The buckle and roundel are steel in two pieces. The frame was nickel plated then gold plated. You can see the gold wearing revealing the nickel plate. The roundel is just silver plated steel. When new you would never been able to tell it was steel unless you used a magnet. 90 years on it is a little easier.

[Daniel Murphy]

Reverse. No magnet required. The prongs have the later sheet metal sleeve holding them.

[Daniel Murphy]

Here is one in gray paint (which appears to be earlier than the green) that has a maker marked tab. There are two shades of gray showing, one is most likely a primer. My MG08 Sled has identical paint including the primer.

Edited August 26, 2006 by Daniel Murphy

[Daniel Murphy]

Reverse.

[Daniel Murphy]

Here is a close up of the maker mark.

[Daniel Murphy]

Here is the only blued finish M14 I have ever seen. The finish is original to the buckle.

[Daniel Murphy]

Reverse. Even under the rust you can see the dark blued finish.

[Daniel Murphy]

Last, but not least, Is my unissued late war feldgrau M14 in the original wrapping.

[Daniel Murphy]

Reverse. The paper is not a packet but just one sheet of paper wrapped around to keep them from banging together after being put into a box of 50. The great thing about something like this, is that for a minimal amount of money (except for the rarer ones)a collector can put together a very nice collection.

Edited August 26, 2006 by Daniel Murphy

[Chip]

The only regulation that I can find regarding buckles from 1914 dates from Oct. 17th when the Bavarian Kriegsministerium ordered that the existing buckles (M95s in Buntmetallen) be sandblasted, spray painted with Feldgrau paint and baked. The first mention of buckles made from substitute materials came in a Prussian decree of January 1915, when it was ordered that buckles would hence be made from steel. The Bavarians ordered the same thing later that month.

So, I think one could just say this 1914 type was a wartime modification of the M95 buckle. Here is an example of what I think is pretty close to what the regulation was refering to. Though not a Bavarian buckle, the Feldgrau finish is definitely baked on a M95 buckle.

Chip

[Chip]

And the reverse.....