ArizonaRealCountry.com 23 July 2018 In summary, if you have a Native made belt buckle with a swivel bar (hinge) on the back, it was probably made in the early 1970s or later. It is possible to have been made before that, but not very likely. If your belt buckle has a handmade swivel bar on the back, it probably came from the 1950s through the early 70s time period, but not many examples of these are found in Native-made buckles. They seemed to prefer the solid bar right up till the time a commercial swivel type was available. On the other hand, having a solid bar on the back does not necessarily mean it is an early buckle. There are many fine buckles being made to this day in the “old-school” style with a solid bar. In this case, you have to rely on the tell-tale signs mentioned in the beginning to help date it. There are some variables of course, like buckles that have been repaired or repurposed. I recently saw a picture of a belt buckle on a social media site claiming it was by a certain silversmith who would have had to make it sometime in the 1930s or earlier. There was a picture of the front and back posted. The front looked good, but the back had a commercial made swivel hinged bar. I immediately thought, “This buckle cannot be that old!” Of course, it is never wise to jump to conclusions quickly (although it is human nature). Upon reading the information in the post, it was disclosed the buckle was an old Concho which had been converted to a belt buckle in more recent times. Obviously, the smith who did the work used a commercial hinged bar and closer examination of the photo revealed signs of the conversion. So there is a prime example of not dating your belt buckle (or any other pieces) before looking over the item thoroughly (preferably by hand and not from a picture — pictures can be deceiving). I hope this has helped to answer some of the questions concerning vintage and antique belt buckles.