While belt buckles have been around for thousands of years, they became fashionably popular in the Roaring Twenties.
As with any item of popularity, many people collect belt buckles. Some people focus on collections with a high monetary value, others on historical collections or those with personal significance.
As with any collection, it is important for people to be exceptionally knowledgeable about what they collect or what they desire to begin collecting. Research is the best vestibule for information.
Some people focus entirely on collecting Civil War belt buckles. If someone has a certain design in mind, but cannot locate a missing piece for their collection, Inola Castings can work with customers to help create unique, one-of-a-kind belt buckles. While replicas are not necessarily desirable for certain collections, they can help fill gaps until an original can be located. Often time’s antique collections do not grow overnight but take a multitude of years to develop and mature.
Other people collect sports memorabilia and jump at the opportunity to collect memorable sporting events and sports teams’ belt buckles. Some buckles have old sports logos, or if the team won a championship, they may have a commemorative edition.
Some collectors focus on different niches of belt buckles. For example, some collectors focus on collecting the most popular buckles. Others focus on cowboy belt buckles, or those with a western motif. Other collections may include a particular decade or era, or focus on belt buckles that were historic advertising pieces. Different advertising pieces could include Coca Cola, Dr. Pepper or cigarette and tobacco advertisements from the 1930s and 1940s. Celebrities such as John Wayne and Audie Murphy helped make westerns and belts buckles popular, and are legends in old Hollywood. As such, some people collect belt buckles that focus entirely on their famous history and ownership.
The military wore belt buckles for centuries, and some collectors focus entirely on collecting certain uniform buckles. In some cases, it is especially important to have familiarity and detailed information about what is the most and least desirable, quality grades, information on spotting fakes, condition of the pieces, etc.
Throughout the ages, custom belt buckles have been popular status symbols. Collectors can focus on collecting unique, custom pieces or they can trust the strong reputation of Inola Castings to help create their own personalized collection. Whether collectors want to create belt buckle collections that focus on their music interests, or mark special occasions with a custom belt buckle, having a unique, one-of-a-kind belt buckle collection is an artful way to express one’s interests.