On the cover of True West magazine, January 2002, there is a picture of Buffalo Bill Cody. He is wearing a very wide belt and a large buckle and it could be made of brass. Can you tell me anything about it?

On the cover of True West magazine, January 2002, there is a picture of Buffalo Bill Cody. He is wearing a very wide belt and a large buckle and it could be made of brass. Can you tell me anything about it?

Bill Dunn
via fax

I called Lynn Houze, acting curator of the Buffalo Bill Historical Center in Cody, Wyoming, and learned the buckle is not brass but silver. It has four strips of silver, soldered together. The strips are one inch wide and the buckle is 41⁄2” high and 67⁄8” wide. It is probably homemade as there’s no maker’s stamp on it. The buckle can be seen at the museum in Cody.

Editor’s note: Buffalo Bill’s belt buckle appears to be brass because the original black and white photograph has been hand-tinted.