*drool* That's really nice! Congrats on the acquisition. 
Now what was the purpose of plaque belts? Did it have a function, or was it just a fashion trend?
Thanks! It functioned as a sword belt, but how swords were hung from it exactly is somewhat of a mystery. It's most definitely first and foremost a fashion trend. A kind of 'look at me, I'm a knight, I'm so rich!' kind of thing...
(of course in period these were most likely gilded with gold, but that would be astronomical in price...) But if you look at the effigies of the mid 14th century through to the early 15th century, there's virtually no knight who doesn't have one.
As far as a sword suspension, one solution that we can use today is to basically attach a small staple to the back of the scabbard throat and then thread a small strap and buckle through the staple to hang it from the belt. This is what I plan to try when I get an appropriate arming sword (looking at the Albion Poitiers currently). It gives the right visual, and is easily removable when you want to take the scabbard of but leave the plaque belt on as you would in battle.
