Original Item: Only One Available. This is a very nice Imperial German WWI Prussian M1915 Steel Belt Buckle (Koppelschloß), which replaced the previous brass and nickel M1895 version. It is of oxide finished steel construction, with a 45mm, slightly convex, stamped metal box shape. This features the Prussian Crown, encompassed by a dual rope-like border within which, against a ribbed background, is the Prussian motto GOTT MIT UNS (God [is] With Us), and a spray of laurels. To the reverse is its welded-on buckle catch, and a metal prong bar with dual prongs, for the belt’s retaining tongue, with the original leather pull tab.

The buckle is in very good condition, with a nice patina of age, and signs of moderate service. It still has a lot of the original "oxide" finish on the front and back, something we rarely see. It is a very attractive display piece that still retains most of the detail on the insignia. The leather tab is good but worn condition, and while we can see that there is some text on it, we are not able to read what it says.

A very nice example of the standard German belt buckle from "The Great War", ready to research and display!

History of German/Prussian Belt Buckles:

First introduced in 1847, the design of the buckle remained virtually unchanged until 1918. After January of 1915, these buckles, which were also used by the Prussian-dominated states of Baden, Oldenburg, Hansa and Thuringia, were made of zinc-plated sheet iron. Originally the box buckles came in a 50mm, (roughly 2 inches), width until 1895 when the width was reduced to 45mm, (roughly 1 3/4 inches), in an attempt to lighten the weight load of the field gear. Initially the buckles were produced of brass with a nickel/silver face plate until 1914 when steel construction buckles were introduced. This buckle design is essentially the same as those used later in WWII.