Leather-smiths call these dome-headed things "Spots". They are made of thin sheet brass, with many nickel plated. A few are made of German silver. The Spots came in various diameters from 1/8" up to 1". Two spear-pointed projections go through the leather and are bent over on the back side.
The holster or harness maker often added these Spots at extra cost. A few holsters were obviously carved in patterns leaving places for the Spots to be applied. But no doubt the Cow-Boy also sometimes applied Spots, having purchased a handful from his local saddle maker.
Pictured here are two such holsters, both for 5-1/2" Colt SAA's.
One was heavily tooled with floral patterns, made from heavy leather.
Another was very plain, again made from heavy leather, but dressed-up with Spots to make it attractive.
Wyatt - You made a flashy gun-belt rig! Seeing the Indian holsters etc reminded me of the Ivory-gripped 45 x 5-1/2" Colt SAA, holster, and gunbelt that Geronimo left in New Mexico after he surrendered. I think he sold it to a photographer, but it is now in the Smithsonian.
I have some brass tacks removed from an old, cowhide covered, travel trunk. They are solid brass including the square shank but, no lead fill to the heads.....
That 7 1/2" with the knife scabbard is on auction with RIA. It is and all original 1880, verified by Kopec with an estimate of $180.000-$250,000 and I would bet it goes for over the max.
When I think on it, back in he '70's, there used to be a guide at a couple of ACW battlefields who would sell 'out the back door' to anyone seeking a souvenir.
His dad would pick up every rusted-to-death/damaged rifle and handgun (and more than a few sabers, as well) at local sales and gun shows and drop them off to be sold to he unwary who were always sworn to silence.
Back then, that rusted item would often bring more than something in nice shape - and back then, 'everything' was in nice shape.
I'd imagine more of that happened than not - especially in smaller museums.
I made this studded holster around 1992 wanting to try a jock strap style and a couple years ago someone not far from me saw it in a google search, tracked me down to this forum and joined, then PMed me about it. He wanted to buy it and an identical right hand mate to it. So I dismantled it, cleaned it up, and traced dimensions to make the other one.
This is not the greatest picture, but you can see the two integral Brass/German-silver prongs. When installed, these prongs bend over toward each other. Look again at my post #1 to see these prongs as bent over on a holster. Hope this helps.
That is a beautiful old trunk in its own right. I would not ruin it by trying to salvage the brass tacks. You can find old tacks at such as a place where antique furniture is re-upholstered.
Yes it is but since tack not good for holsters I'm not interested. If a little bigger (10"x6"x5.5") could be converted to an interesting display case for an old Colt SAA!!
Another Old West item sometimes found decorated with spots are spurs. Shown here are some Buermann double-button steel spurs with 5-point Star rowels. The story goes that Walter Tipps of Austin was the first to produce these tempered steel spurs with integral twin buttons on each side about 1866. Buermann, being a high volume eastern producer and wholesaler, bought Tipps' patent.
The Spur Straps on these Buermanns are decorated with One Large German Silver Spot, and Three smaller Brass Spots. Of course, where the straps are slotted are the two integral steel buttons.
While watching the 2010 movie True Grit, I saw a great pair of Spurs with Straps Decorated with Brass Spots! They were worn by Matt Damon (Texas Ranger) in that movie starring Jeff Bridges as Rooster Cogburn.
I love spots and use them often. The modern spots are actually plated steel, either brass or nickel, bright or antique. Victorio made the important distinction between tacks and spots.
Also glad to see Chuck Burrows name mentioned. His work is what inspired mine and I've also been able to put together a fair collection of it. Took possession of another rig just yesterday so no decent pics yet. Just the seller's pic and one from the original WRTC website. I now have four holsters, three belts, four sheaths, three knives and a belt pouch.
Here's my "Johnny Ringo" holster on left, Lever Action Bill's on right. His for a scarce 6 1/2" SAA, but with my 5 1/2" Great Western here. And a simple slim jim with a few studs.
I wish I had one like it in my collection of old saddles.a few of them date back to pre-1900,the newest of the old saddles are from the 1950's,then I have a couple that are fairly recent.
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