Tiffany Foundry - Coca Cola Belt Buckle

Sorry but this is a fake.  This and others like it are known as "fantasy" objects, items that never existed as an old item and were never used in advertising by Coca-Cola nor sanctioned by them. It is a modern creation meant to appeal to collectors or mislead the unwary.

Brass belt buckles marked "Tiffany" first began appearing at antique shows, auctions and outdoor markets in the early to mid-1960s. Despite warnings from experts that such buckles were never seen before 1965 and did not appear in any reference books, buyers began paying up to $400 and more to own them.

The questions of age seemed to be settled in 1970 when a book exclusively on the belt buckles, Tiffany & Gaylord Express & Exhibition Belt Plates (TGEEBP) appeared. In it were specific company names with order dates, production quantities and other detailed information. Buckle sellers pointed out the book's 1950 copyright date as proof the buckles were documented years earlier. The question of age seemed to be resolved.

But that was only the beginning.

In 1973, J. Duncan Campbell, an expert in metal insignias who was an advisor to the Smithsonian, published New Belt Buckles of the Old West, a book exposing the Tiffany buckles as frauds. Not only did Campbell prove the buckles were recently made, he also showed how the TGEEBP book with "factory records" and a copyright date of 1950 was faked too. Campbell also learned that western museum owner Frank Fish, who is used as a reference throughout the book and alleged to have owned the original Tiffany buckle dies, was murdered and his museum looted. These buckles still sell for around $25.00..........