Friday at Auction Finds is readers’ questions day. I try to guide readers to resources for them to determine the value of their items. I’m not able to appraise their treasures, but I can do some preliminary research to get them started. So, these are market values based on prices I find on the web, not appraisal estimates for insurance purposes that I suggest for items that have been determined to be of great value.
Today’s question is about a so-called Tiffany belt buckle with a Salem witch insignia.
Question:
I have a buckle that looks much like the Tiffany buckle but does not have the Tiffany insignia. It does have the Salem witch insignia, though. Would that mean mine is a fake or could it possibly be a real deal buckle?
Answer:
The reader sent me this email after reading a blog post I wrote about a Ku Klan belt buckle owned by an African American collector. When I researched it, I found a number of belt buckles bearing the word “Tiffany.” They were all fakes. The Klan buckle owned by the collector, however, did not resemble any of the fakes that I found on the web. His was not marked Tiffany, so perhaps it did belong to a member of that group.
The reader’s buckle is among the fakes. He did not send me a photo, but I had earlier come across an auction in 2010 of one engraved “Tiffany & Co., London and England” and “Daniel Low, Salem, Mass. Witch.” This inscription, along with a witch on a broom, was on the back of the buckle. The front bore a robed Klan member. It sold for $80.
Daniel Low & Co. actually existed. Seth Low, the son of Daniel, and M.W. Galt started making silver souvenir spoons in this country after they were first produced in Europe in the 1850s. The two are credited with starting what was called the “souvenir spoon craze” near the end of the 19th century. The Low company’s Salem Witch Spoon in 1890 set the craze in full motion. The witch on a broom later became its trademark. The company seemed to have been known for its high-end jewelry and silver pieces, as well as unusual items, which I suspect did not include crude belt buckles.
Buckles bearing the Wells Fargo and Tiffany names seemed to have been first made by a company called Deane and Adams in the 1970s, according to the 2010 book “Blade’s Guide to Knives & Their Values,” edited by Steve Shackleford. They were sold for $3 to $6, according to the book, and included KKK and Wells Fargo knives, and Tiffany bowie knives.
Antique and collectibles experts Ralph and Terry Kovel put the production even earlier, noting that the fakes were made in England and flooded the market starting in the 1960s. The perceived authenticity of the fakes were further enhanced by a book that gave credence to the buckles. That book itself was found to be a hoax.
The real Tiffany obviously disavowed any knowledge or relationship to the fakes. On its website, it noted: “We have no record that any corporate or Western insignia belt buckles were ever produced by or for Tiffany & Co.” It also recommended two articles for more information.
Several sites on the web seek to debunk the authenticity of the buckles, but they are still being sold. I came across a Colt Revolver Tiffany belt buckle selling on eBay as a “rare” item from an estate sale. The seller listed it for $750.
As for the reader’s belt buckle, I searched eBay but could not find one with a witch insignia. I did find western and other buckles, but most were not selling. The most expensive: Mickey Mouse (both fakes) for $189 and $125, Santa Claus (a fake) for $120, Coca Cola (all fakes) for $130 (with barely clothed or seemingly nude women) and $100, and a Wells Fargo (a fake) for $115.
If you want to see what a real Tiffany belt buckle looks like, take a peek at this simple yet lovely sterling silver one for $245.
