A good example of a fairly rare buckle of gilt aluminium construction. This is the buckle for the dirk, not the sword, belt, being approximately half the size of the latter. As buckles go, it's the rarer of the two for the sea-going navy.

This is a typical Sturmabteilung buckle of two-piece construction with a gilding metal centre and a brass field and would originally have been worn on a brown leather belt. The Stormtroops were the fighting arm of the Nazi party when it came to disputing control of the streets with the Reds.

This belt buckle would have been worn by an officer with the dress uniform up to WW1. To my knowledge, it is the only belt buckle which displays a mounted figure, with the exception of the St Martin's Volunteers of the Westminster Rifles from a slightly earlier era (the 1860s).

This is the mid-war version, which replaced the gilt aluminium / gilt steel / brass type of the pre-war and early war years. It is virtually mint, with a little rust at the goal post catch on the reverse. Otherwise there is hardly any paint missing from the piece, one of the best examples I have come across. There is no maker mark.

This 'feldbindung' or officer's dress belt was introduced in 1896 to replace the schaerpen (a sort of bullion cummerbund with large tassels) throughout the German army. Baden and Oldenburg shared both the design of the buckle (with the Imperial crown replacing the royal one) and the braid of the belt (with its characteristic thin red stripe).