Paul: Unless you have had an actual negative experience with my material or my customer service (in which case I expect you to contact me for an immediate resolution), I am frankly quite surprised to see a moderator of such a good forum repeating baseless "internet" rumor and innuendo. I have NOT as you claim been caught "shining things up" and there is nothing wrong, as you did state, with this belt buckle. Furthermore, if you know anything about Iron Crosses, you would know that "shining them up" is not something I really need to waste my time doing. Anyway, I hoipe your judgement and comments are not reflective of the quality of this forum, about which I have heard excellent things. You may not agree with the price of this artifact, but there is nothing physically wrong with it.