These are typical niello belt fittings for a shashqua or kindjhal. About half the fittings are hallmarked 84 and with a Russian town mark and one piece is dated 1863. These were worn typically by Cossack elements, but also sometimes by Russian women.

This is an other ranks buckle for an Indian policeman in the last 50 odd years of the Raj. It would have been worn on the uniform tunic. Some research would show whether this was one of the paramilitary battalions in this frontier province, or regular local police.

This is the standard Russian other ranks buckle of the Great War worn up until the Bolsheviks changed the insignia in the 1920s. This has the coat of arms of imperial Russia, with St George and the dragon mounted on the breast of the double eagle, which carries the state coat of arms of the constituent parts of the empire.

This is a Napoleonic design which may, indeed, be little different from the early 19th-century original. There was a National Guard in Paris since the days of the Revolution in 1789, when they were commanded by Lafayette. They remained in business right up to 1914 and beyond.

This full dress bright aluminium brocade belt (size 80cm) with its buckle would have been worn with parade dress and on various other formal occasions. The buckle is marked on the hook 'A' for Assmann & Co. Bandmasters had two red stripes running through the braid and generals wore them in gold bullion with a gilt buckle.

This waist belt clasp would have been worn by the enlisted men of the NRRFA, which was raised in Natal in the early years of the 20th century. It would probably have gone on a white buff leather belt, possibly with sword slings, and would probably have been worn for parade only.

The finish on this fake is anodised zinc with a silver-grey wash. It has some half dozen points which would indicate that it is the product of a recently created die. NB: This fake does not appear in any of the reference books as yet!

This reasonably sophisticated copy is a Hungarian fake from the early years of the 21st century. The prongs are more or less the correct shape, but there are other features which give the game away, so caveat emptor with this one!

A broken example of a fairly rare German railway official's buckle, missing its female portion. There is no maker mark and it is a mid-war production from zinc. Commissioned railway officers wore these, the railways being under quasi-military control in the Third Reich period.

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.