US Civil War Brass Enlisted Shoulder Scales
This item is listed for historical interest only. It was listed on our site previously but has been sold and is no longer available for purchase.
Sold for: $235.00

Original era manufacture. Here we have a period example of a pair of universally despised piece of gear foisted upon the Civil War Union soldier, the brass shoulder scales. Their initial tactical purpose was to ward-off sabre blows from attaching enemy cavalry and were secured in place on the uniform by a system of brass loops and turnbuckle locking tabs. These were intended to be worn by all enlisted ranks, in all branches but soon were relagated to full dress affairs. So were despised were these impractical devices that prudent soldiers soon found a convenient excuse for loosing them, often with the unspoken approval of their superiors. Subsequently matched pairs of these scales are rather uncommon anymore. This set, has a nice brass paina overall with typical denting to the surfaces of the scalloped ends. The underside attaching tongues are present with a portion of the original morroccan leather covering remaining on one. Neat old things, we've never had many pair of these.