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190? Belt with USMC Snap Buttons


Jason G
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My friend just acquired this Sunday at a local estate sale. The buttons appear to me to be USMC. I could easily be wrong.... But wanted to post this one up for comment from the experts.... ANY help appreciated. This is another one that may go to the For Sale section. (Because I doubt I can afford it myself :( )

 

post-271-1269993986.jpg

 

 

MFG is Mills. These will be high quality pics.

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That's the last one.

 

Any help on this appreciated. Should I mortgage the house for this? Is it worth the domestic dispute with the wife? LOL

 

And trust me, you don't want to know what he paid for it....It'll make you cry like I am now...

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That's the last one.

 

Any help on this appreciated. Should I mortgage the house for this? Is it worth the domestic dispute with the wife? LOL

 

It is yours, right?

 

Sam

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No. Good friend who is more of a 'dealer' than a 'collector' owns it. He asked me for opinions on it, and this 1900's era stuff is not something I'm 'up' on, so putting it here. I've seen these with the Eagle snap buttons, but never with a USMC.

 

And, yeah, the house is mine LOL. Not paid for yet and not gonna be it looks like :)

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No. Good friend who is more of a 'dealer' than a 'collector' owns it. He asked me for opinions on it, and this 1900's era stuff is not something I'm 'up' on, so putting it here. I've seen these with the Eagle snap buttons, but never with a USMC.

 

And, yeah, the house is mine LOL. Not paid for yet and not gonna be it looks like :)

 

I have never seen em with USMC snaps before. (On belts I mean). The canteen covers in vg condition you will have to pull out a couple of K's to own. I am not that savvy on pre ww1 stuff but im sure there are some early 1900's field gear gurus on here. New Romantic is one.

 

I do want to know how much he payed for it and how much he wants for it.

 

sam

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Shot in the dark here. I'm betting he paid 50 cents for the belt, and its worth 1300-1500. Someone correct me?

 

Also, the sale was yesterday. Get off the internet, drive over to the house, and jump in their garbage. Also, go to the city/county and find out who owned the house after WWI. Provenance my good man....

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Schnicklfritz

It's a model 1903 Mills web belt with USMC eagle snaps. Harder to find than the Army version, but I wouldn't say rare. In that condition, I would estimate $650 to $800 at the top. About 2 years ago, a dealer had a mint unissued one for $1300.

 

But I hear that they are making a movie about Belleau Wood, so..... :whistling:

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It's a model 1903 Mills web belt with USMC eagle snaps. Harder to find than the Army version, but I wouldn't say rare. In that condition, I would estimate $650 to $800 at the top. About 2 years ago, a dealer had a mint unissued one for $1300.

 

But I hear that they are making a movie about Belleau Wood, so..... :whistling:

 

 

What movie is being made about Belleau Woods? Is it the one done by the Marine Corps museum for the WWI wing?

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Schnicklfritz

It's odd that the only difference in the 1903 & 1910 style Mills cartridge belts and canteen covers issued to the Army and the Marines was the buttons put on it, when they made different styles of suspenders for each branch. Of course, the Navy also had their own style of buttons also.

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This is a Model 1907 Mills belt. The larger (wider) adjustment buckle on the back gives the style away as well as the 1907 patent date on the buckle. The Marine Corps contracted directly with Mills in 1908 for 10,000 belts and suspenders as a set. I acquired my M1907 off Ebay a little over a year ago for $165 on Buy It Now before anyone bid on it. This order coincided with the USMC order of 10,000 M1903 rifles.

 

The M1903s acquired by the Marine Corps were ordered through the Army Ordnance Department and thus would not have USMC snaps. I have never seen an M1903 belt with USMC snaps.

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They are rare yes but seem, in my humble opinion, to be much more plentiful than the M1910. I have two versions of this belt both in very good condition, I have come across several over the years, but only 2 or 3 times have I seen the M1910 ten-pocket belt with the Eagle/Anchor Marine Corps snaps and one of those is the one I currently have which is a pea-greenish color that came with the matching canteen. I am sure it would go for around 800 but who knows? Nice find for your friend and hope you will acquire it if he sells it.

Semper Fi, Kevin Seldon

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