Best Navy Button 1812ish (most guilt) + silver Half Dollar Live Video too boot.

Rick (Nova Scotia)

Silver Member
May 8, 2008
4,100
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Detector(s) used
Omega, F75, AT Pro
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All Treasure Hunting
Went out by myself, seems everyone else was busy. Too bad.
A site I got 14 buttons on a previous hunt before was freshly plowed. Within ten minutes I get a button, knew there was something on it, turns out to be my best Navy button ever. It is a looker IMO.
Ten-fifteen minutes or so later I get a solid 94 signal on my Omega, thinking pop can, but turn on the camera anyway? and pull a half dollar (1902-1910) OK, I had thought with the age of the average find on this site that the coin was going to be better (older) but that's still cool. I got both the coin finds on live dig video. Video is short too at 2 and a half minutes. Stopped to watch some model airplanes on the way home. Great day.

Good Luck Out There.

EDIT, Video added. (warning, small amount of bad language, sorry, but a tad excited)




Forgot to mention the copper is a GEO III., and only about the 3rd coin from the site.
 

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Upvote 15
What a hunt and that button is killer man :thumbsup: I'm always impressed at how quick the IDs come from everyone here on something like that button. Looking forward to watching the video, but I think it needs to be toggled to public. Great hunt Rick!
 

What a hunt and that button is killer man :thumbsup: I'm always impressed at how quick the IDs come from everyone here on something like that button. Looking forward to watching the video, but I think it needs to be toggled to public. Great hunt Rick!


Thanks, should be "public" I think I forgot to click "publish"...done... it works fine on firefox...will check though....
 

Thanks, should be "public" I think I forgot to click "publish"...done... it works fine on firefox...will check though....

It's all good now and I just watched it. That button might be the best find, but seeing you dig that half got me excited. Ha. Nothing like seeing a big silver pop out. Once again, awesome hunt.
 

Awesome finds. The button is great. Looks like one I found awhile back with gilt still intact that you helped me id but yours is in way better shape! [emoji106]
 

Fantastic button Rick, and in beautiful shape! And a silver half? That was a good day for sure. Got pics of the half?
 

Fantastic button Rick, and in beautiful shape! And a silver half? That was a good day for sure. Got pics of the half?

Thanks, The half is about the worst condition silver I ever found, Edward VII, can't see the date, maybe I'll scrub it a bit, would be cool if it happened to be an '04, or '05.

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Thanks S. I know where you got that pic. It's a good site.
Again I'm pretty happy with the button, my best in 9 years, so that says a lot right there.

Careful, its a good site with quite a few mistake IDs.

Anyways, I knew that was an 18th C example as soon as I saw it. Close to as good as they come - congrats...
 

Thanks, The half is about the worst condition silver I ever found, Edward VII, can't see the date, maybe I'll scrub it a bit, would be cool if it happened to be an '04, or '05.

View attachment 1307393

Oh well, they can't be all MS64 haha. Still a great coin, I'd love to find an Ed half. Maybe some tinfoil treatment?
 

That's quite a hunt you had there Rick, and congrats on that awesome button. But I think you need a bigger shovel :laughing7:.
 

That's quite a hunt you had there Rick, and congrats on that awesome button. But I think you need a bigger shovel :laughing7:.

Thanks Bill.
I travel to ALL my solo hunts via bicycle, so have to travel light, backpack, detector, pouch, pointer, digger, extra battery, and a drink grand total about 10 pounds. You can see the bike in the first couple of seconds of the Video
 

I thought it was a widely known fact that quality marks did not start to appear on the backs of buttons until after 1800. If that's true, how can this example date to 1787-1795?? Just trying to confirm this excellent example is being properly dated (although my knowledge of early British navy buttons is near zilch).
 

I thought it was a widely known fact that quality marks did not start to appear on the backs of buttons until after 1800. If that's true, how can this example date to 1787-1795?? Just trying to confirm this excellent example is being properly dated (although my knowledge of early British navy buttons is near zilch).


Not sure what to tell you other than you can open Alberts book and see it for yourself. My resource is something entirely different, but the same info..
 

Great naval button Rick, and it is a real looker. Never saw one of those posted before.
 

I thought it was a widely known fact that quality marks did not start to appear on the backs of buttons until after 1800. If that's true, how can this example date to 1787-1795?? Just trying to confirm this excellent example is being properly dated (although my knowledge of early British navy buttons is near zilch).
If someone handed me that button and asked me to date it, I would say circa 1815. That type of rim on the face of the button that creates an oval background for the motif was widely used in the 1810 -1825 period.
 

If someone handed me that button and asked me to date it, I would say circa 1815. That type of rim on the face of the button that creates an oval background for the motif was widely used in the 1810 -1825 period.

Totally agree with your observations Steve.
 

Let me again chime in on this. I just did some checking on the website linked below, and discovered that in addition to the 1787-1795 Royal Navy Captain and Commander's button being discussed, the exact same button (at least the front) was shown under the Commissioned Officers and Late Royal Navy Surgeon category. You can see that 2nd button if you scroll further down the page, and it has a backmark whereas the first one would likely not have one based on it being before the time frame when backmarks first began to appear. I think the info in Albert's isn't complete as I believe it refers to the example pictured there as the Commissioned Officers button with backmark, but provides the earlier dating which I think is incorrect. Again, I'm certainly no authority on these buttons, but based on the evidence I'm seeing I believe Rick's is the later Commissioned Officers/Surgeon variety and dates to the early 1800s. Steve's comments above also validate this position.

George Washington Inaugural Buttons ? The Continental Navy The French Colonial Troops & MarinesThe British Royal Navy
 

You can see that 2nd button if you scroll further down the page, and it has a backmark whereas the first one would likely not have one based on it being before the time frame when backmarks first began to appear.


If you believe the site you linked to is accurate, scroll to the admirals buttons... because it eliminates your argument. "The makers mark dates this from 1771-1780"

I'd be curious to know what the mark is, and I bet it's S. Firmin strand... and if so I would disagree with the dating because I had that same mark on a numbered button that was thought of to be post war, and I think it was too... and it was not in the books. Also, the dating for that admirals button goes against my reference material, so again I would question the reference they used to date the mark... and it actually rings a bell, because I think back when I had the numbered button I had found somewhere saying it was early... just some online site. Also that site calls several buttons lietintenmts, and I could not disagree more. If you look I'll bet you'll recognize a cast one which I believe dates quite a bit earlier. As for the surgeons wearing them, that also only seems to come from one place, but maybe they did... it's an officer button, so it wouldn't not surprise me if they ended up being worn by different positions or ranks. I personally do not think of it as a surgeons button, but to only call it that I think is totally wrong. Basically it's a Royal Navy officer button which was first issued in 1787, has different variants, by different makers, and was used up through the war of 1812, which was the case for pretty much every other button that dates post Rev War. Button backmarks generally came on the seen after the Rev War, but there was a few during. I know the Samuel Firmin SF mark is on the 2nd pattern King's American Regiment, as well as being on an early Navy I owned, and also some Artillery. All dating to the 1780s. Anyway, that's my take.
 

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