I’m not a collector of war relics, but I’m always curious about history. That’s what drove me to stop and ask an auction-house assistant to take some Civil War relics from a glass case so I could examine them.
Some of the small remnants lay in cushioned boxes so I could not actually handle them – which was good for their preservation. At some point, these likely had belonged to a collector who knew how to protect them. That’s not the case with a lot of collections I’ve seen at auction that were left to deteriorate.
But were they real? That didn’t matter to me because I wasn’t going to buy them. I don’t know enough about Civil War or other war relics to even consider bidding on them. At least one buyer was interested in a remnant not in the cases: A thick piece of heavy metal – which looked like artillery – already had an orange absentee bid number on it.
There were three of the boxes, along with a few relics in a worn plastic bag. The three cases came with the same typed note:
CIVIL WAR RELICS EXCAVATED FROM BATTLEFIELDS AND CAMPSITES.
The note was not specific as to which battlefield or when.
Two of the cases contained buckles covered with crude and rust. These actually looked old to me – I’m no expert, though – but I later learned that Civil War belt buckles are the most faked items, along with tags worn by enslaved Africans that showed they were allowed to leave plantations with the permission of slave owners who hired them out. The real tags are said to be rare. The boxes also contained buttons and coins.
One of the cases held additional written information on the provenance, or history, of its contents:
Battle of Winchester, September 19, 1964. Original lead bullets and parts of equipment used by Union and Confederate troops during the battle.
This was the last of three Civil War battles in Winchester, VA, in 1862, 1863 and 1864. The town, in a state that had decided to secede, changed hands several times from Union to Confederate.
The plastic bag came with a listing of the contents and where they came from:
Original 6 piece Gettysburg Dug Relics Lot * with Williams Cleaner Bullet * .69 Cal Round Ball * 2 Minie Balls * Pistol Ball * Knapsack Hook. All from the Old C.A. Blocher Jewelry Store Family of Gettysburg. $16 for the Lot.
Googling, I found that the jewelry store was around in the 1890s and at least until the early 20th century. Here’s an ad for the store in a 1905 edition of a Gettysburg historical guide, where Blocher pitched souvenir spoons embossed with battle scenes, along with a book of pictures and stories. Here’s a Blocher postcard for a sale of souvenir spoons and novelties, including souvenir musket pencils, and two souvenir foldout postcard booklets.
I had no idea if any of these relics were authentic. I suspect that this was one of those buyer’s beware or buy at your own risk. I wasn’t around when they were sold, but I’m certain that the auctioneer made it clear that the auction house could not vouch for any of the relics. It’s what they usually do when they can’t authenticate an item and don’t want it returned when the buyer finds out that it’s a fake or worthless.
There are plenty of fakes out there, so would-be relics collectors are urged to educate themselves so they’ll know what to look for, handle the items before buying, ask about guarantees and returns, and always buy from reputable dealers. Googling, I found a ton of sites that sell Civil War relics, including the privately owned Gettysburg Museum of History, along with articles pertaining to them.
Valuable Civil War relics include uniform jacket buttons, knapsack hooks, bayonets, canteens and belt buckles, according to one site.
