Cast buckles are ones where metal is poured into a mold, allowed to cool and then the rough edges are buffed out. They are the most common form of buckles around with literally millions made every year. For cowboy type buckles they are usually made from either brass, bronze or pewter. The art is in crafting the mold and some pretty amazing images can be made.
Cast buckles are less expensive but you need to be a little careful. The way to evaluate them is to see how “crisp” the image is. Sometimes unscrupulous people take an existing manufacturers buckle and use it to impress a new mold and then use that to make a new buckle. When that happens the image typically gets less sharp looking. I’ve seen buckles where this has been done for several generations of buckles but it is hardly recognizable at the end.
Brass – Brass – A yellowish alloy of copper and zinc, sometimes including small amounts of other metals, but usually 67 percent copper and 33 percent zinc.
Bronze – 85% copper and 15% zinc, has a dark gold like look.
Pewter – Any of numerous silver-gray alloys of tin with various amounts of antimony, copper, and sometimes lead. At least 51% must be tin but good manufacturers often use up to 90% or more. It is valued because it will not tarnish, rust or deteriorate in any way.
You can see lots of cast buckles at my website Beals Cowboy Buckles