Buckle identification: dating Roman to Georgian buckles

Buckles turn up on almost every permission. Most are post-medieval, and a fair number are medieval. Dating them isn’t as precise as dating a coin, but the shape of the frame and the way it fastened go a long way.

This guide follows Chris Marshall’s buckle typology. He wrote it for Treasure Hunting magazine in 1986 and revised it in 2002, and it’s hosted by the UK Detector Finds Database. He warns that newer work has been published since. Use it as a first step, then check with your Finds Liaison Officer.

Step 1: count the loops

Single loop. One frame, with the tongue on a bar at one end. This is the medieval norm.

Double loop. Two openings either side of a central bar, like a figure of eight or spectacles. Marshall says double loops start to dominate in the 16th century, and the change is almost complete by 1600. After that, single loops were still used on harness, mostly in iron.

Step 2: how does it fix?

Buckle plate. A folded plate riveted to the strap. Usual for medieval buckles.

Chape and spindle. A frame drilled to take a separate pin, with a chape that clips the buckle to a shoe, stud or strap. Marshall classes these as Type V. They were made to be removed. Toward the end of the 17th century, a cast frame drilled right through for a steel spindle became the standard method.

Roman buckles

Marshall notes there’s no evidence of buckles in England before the Roman invasion. Roman buckles are mostly military: sword belts, baldrics and armour. Features to look for:

• A separate hinge-pin through drilled ends or cast rings on the loop.
• D-shaped loops, many with curled-in ends.
• Rectangular loops with knobs on the corners of the front edge.
• Plates that are plain, enamelled, inlaid with niello or embossed.

Roman buckles can be recordable and important. Record them with your FLO.

Medieval buckles, 1200–1500

Marshall’s medieval types, all copper alloy unless noted:

Type IF is the big group. Some have a small revolving cylinder on the loop. Marshall suggests it needs splitting into sub-types for closer dating.

Some medieval buckles are gilded. Gilding alone doesn’t make an object Treasure, but a buckle made of silver or gold over 300 years old may be; see what counts as treasure.

Tudor and Stuart, 1485–1700

The figure-of-eight “spectacle” buckle is by far the most common form in the 16th and 17th centuries, Marshall writes. Variations to know:

• Rosettes on the loop. A common late 16th-century type; examples are dated 1570–1600 and 1550–1590.
• Trapezium double loop. First appears in the last quarter of the 16th century and runs on to about 1650. Mostly spur buckles; the larger ones are belt buckles.
• Spur buckles. Boots with spurs were fashionable for walking from 1610 to 1660, and spur buckles of the period are reasonably common finds.
• Baldric buckles. Shoulder belts became common after 1628 until 1700.

Excavated examples help pin these down. One from Banbury Castle, dated 1644–5, still had leather on the central bar. Matching types turn up on early 17th-century colonial sites such as Jamestown, Virginia, which helps with dating.

Shoe buckles and chapes, 1660–1790s

Samuel Pepys wrote on 22 January 1660: “This day I began to put on buckles to my shoes.”

The chape is the best clue to date:

Steel chapes and tongues rust. Marshall notes most excavated all-steel examples are in poor condition, so you may be dating by the frame’s drilled holes, shape and size.

Knee buckles usually have double or triple spikes. If the tongue is gone, look at the spindle: on knee buckles it generally runs along the length of the frame.

Georgian decoration and size

Marshall’s guide to shoe buckle styles:

• From the 1730s. More intricate rococo castings: rosettes, ropes, scrolls, beads.
• From the 1740s. Tooling to look like close-set faceted stones.
• From the 1750s. Bold, shouldered outlines and openwork.
• From the 1760s. Faceted steel to imitate jewels.
• From the 1770s. Large rectangular shapes, some up to 4 inches long.

On size: square buckles under 2 inches are early 18th century, and over 2 inches are after 1760. Oval to round buckles of 2–3 inches are more common from the 1750s.

Stamping machines came in from 1769. Most surviving buckles date from after 1760. After the 1790s, ties largely replaced shoe buckles.

Silver buckles

Marshall notes that silver buckles were all hallmarked up to 1739. Between 1740 and 1790, buckles under ten pennyweights were exempt, though makers’ marks were still used. From 1790 all silver buckles were fully hallmarked.

Record and compare

Photograph both faces and the back, with a scale. The UKDFD database has many recorded buckles to compare. For other common dress finds, see old buttons, thimbles and crotal bells.

FAQ

How do I date a buckle?

Count the loops, then look at how the tongue fits. Single-loop buckles are mostly medieval. Double-loop ('spectacle' or figure-of-eight) buckles take over in the 16th century. Buckles with a frame drilled for a separate spindle and a chape are mostly from about 1660 onwards. Decoration and size narrow it further.

What is a chape on a buckle?

The part that attaches a removable buckle to the strap or shoe. Chapes changed over time: a stud (1660–1720), an anchor, a loop with a spike, a double loop, and from 1784 spring chapes patented by William Eley.

Is it a shoe buckle or a knee buckle?

Knee buckles usually have double or triple-spiked tongues, and the spindle generally runs along the length of the frame rather than across the width, according to Chris Marshall's guide.

How big were Georgian shoe buckles?

They got bigger. As a rough guide, square buckles under 2 inches are early 18th century; rectangular buckles grew to as much as 4 inches long from the 1770s. Shoe buckles were mostly replaced by ties after the 1790s.

Sources

Every figure in this guide comes from one of these. We checked each one on 1 November 2026.

1. Chris Marshall, “Buckles through the ages” (parts 1–12), first published in Treasure Hunting magazine (1986), revised 2002, hosted by UKDFD. www.ukdfd.co.uk/ceejays_site/pages/buckletitlepage.htm
2. UK Detector Finds Database, reference articles index. www.ukdfd.co.uk/pages/artefacts.html
3. Portable Antiquities Scheme, Code of Practice for Responsible Metal Detecting. finds.org.uk/guides/detecting-guidance/code-of-practice-for-responsible-metal-detecting