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MILLS .45 CALIBER WOVEN PISTOL CARTRIDGE BELT w/
THE VERY RARE ORIGINAL MILLS “STAR” PLATE – EXCELLENT
RARE BELT COMBINATION TO DISPLAY WITH MANY OF THE
RIFLES AND REVOLVERS PRESENT ON THE FRONTIER:
In
addition to the lucrative government contracts enjoyed
by the Mills Woven Belt Company, they also produced a
wide range of cartridge belts for the civilian market.
While Mills must have made these .45 caliber Looped
Pistol Cartridge Belts in some quantity, both for sale
to the military and to civilian customers, today they
are one of the rarest of the Mills Woven Looped
Cartridge Belts. Certainly far less common than the
Mills .38 caliber pistol cartridge belts, these .45
caliber belts come to light at an estimated rate of one
.45 caliber belt for probably every 100 .38 caliber
belts, perhaps less frequently than that.
Of special note, this belt is fitted with the very rare
original Mills Company “Star” two piece plate, including
the original, proper catch. Apparently made in very
limited numbers based on the very few surviving
examples, this plate has an excellent naturally aged
patina and retains the legible Mills patent information
stamp on the plate tongue. No doubt, this plate was
popular in the Texas market, especially along the border
region, and among law enforcement officers throughout
the West. The plate has no wear or dents and all four
of the folded tabs which secure the plate and catch on
the belt are full form and intact.
While the cartridge loops were originally woven to
accept the .45 caliber cartridge, and the .45 Colt
cartridge case fits these cartridge loops, other
cartridges present on the frontier were similar in
diameter and the loops in this belt will accommodate
them very well. I have tried a number of different
cartridges, such as the .44-40 & .38-40 cartridges, as
well as the variety of .44 caliber pistol cartridges
such as .44 Colt, .44 S&W American and Russian, .44
Merwin & Hulbert, and the .45 S&W, and all of these will
fit in the cartridge loops. Of special note, these
loops will also accept the .44 Henry cartridges used in
the Henry and Winchester Model 1866 rifles and carbines,
so this belt would have been appropriate for those men
in the West who continued to hang on to those early
lever guns.
Showing minimal evidence of wear, this belt has survived
in excellent condition, with only some isolated minor
wear to the edges of a few of the cartridge loops and no
wear to the edges of the belt body. This “stone” or tan
Mills Woven Pistol Cartridge Belt has three thin blue
lateral lines running the length of the belt. All forty
five of the cartridge loops are fully intact with no
wear as noted above and none of the loops are torn or
loose. Both of the belt ends still retain the linen
binding.
Available in the early 1880’s and offered well into the
early years of the 20TH Century, this .45
caliber Mills Belt would have been popular on the
frontier and along the southern border for the same
reasons the woven belts saw extensive use with the army
– a lightweight, durable cartridge belt which did not
suffer from the problems experienced with leather belts
such as the chemical reaction between the leather and
the copper or brass cartridge cases.
This is an excellent example of a very rare Mills belt
which would mate well with one of the early style single
action revolver holsters for display with any number of
the pistols and rifles present on the frontier.
SOLD
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