Another button ID thread!

[gtoast99]

Hey everyone!

I have a couple buttons I have questions on, perhaps you can help. There's 3 here total, two flat buttons and one eagle navy button.

For the flat buttons, I was wondering about a possible timeframe. The bent one has two circles around the shank on the back, but not much helpful for dating it. The other one, on the other hand, is a little better. It has the word LONDON and three stars. I'm also including a picture of one I *didn't* dig up, but found online. It's exactly the same as my button, but in better shape with a much better picture.

The Navy button someone ID'ed as this one, which is listed as 1852-77:
http://www.thetreasuredepot.com/cgi...ons/navy&thefile=NA109.jpg&size=1&display=yes

I'm wondering if mine is real or repro. What gives me pause is that mine has no backmark that I can tell. Does it look right as far as construction? Is it odd that it has no backmark? Opinions on if it's genuine?

THANKS so much in advance

 

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[TheCannonballGuy]

Your 1-piece brass flat-button with a raised-letting ("Raised-Mark) backmark saying "London" dates from the 1790s to 1830s/40s.

Your navy button could be an actual US Navy one, rather than a civilian-clothing imitation. On actual Navy buttons, the circular rope border passes through the ring atop the anchor ...although so does the rope border on some of the civilian imitation buttons.

But in addition to the rope-through-the-anchor-ring, your button have extra-thick gold gilt ...and an extra thick-brass wire loop on the back. Those charactersitics are indications that your button is Military, because civilian imitations tend to be more cheaply made, with thinner gilt (if any) and a flimsy-er loop.

Yes, it would be unusual for an actual US Navy button to have no backmark ...but your button may have had a backmark that is now corroded away ...or is obscured by concretion.

Pending further cleaning of your button's front and back to see if there's even one letter of a backmark remaining, at this point I think you've got an actual US Navy button.

But without backmark info, it's nearly imposible to date. Your button's design has been in use from the mid-1800s onward.

 

[Dig em all]

Scoville Manufacturing Company Waterbury Connecticut. 20 miles up the road from me.

 

[gtoast99]

Thanks for the great info cannonballguy! The date for the London flat button makes sense for the location, and I'm quite fond of it.

I've done the best I can cleaning up the back of the eagle button, but it has no backmark at all. It's easier to see in person than in the pic. But there isn't a letter or nothin. And It doesn't look like there could have been something but it corroded out, there just wasn't anything there.

Perhaps this one will remain a mystery??

Scoville Manufacturing Company Waterbury Connecticut. 20 miles up the road from me.

I wish it said that! But, as stated above no backmark. Which I guess means no id...