Button 1700 house

[Whatdayagot]

Found these two about two feet apart they state PLATED with arrow design going down each side to six o'clock position anyone know a date or value or how does one tell if it's a tombac button? the second one is a little larger than the first but says the same thing

 

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[TheCannonballGuy]

In the photo they appear to have a raised-lettering backmark, which on dug-in-the-US brass (or copepr) 1-piece flatbuttons means manufacture between about 1790 into the late-1830s. On buttons from that time-period, the word "gilt" meant gold plating, and the word "plated" meant silver plating. Your buttons are made of the legendary British Sheffield Silverplate, a thin layer of sterling silver bonded onto a layer of copper.

You asked for their value. Dollar-value of ones with no silver remaining is about $1... at least, that's what you can buy "dug" (excavated) ones for at relic-shows here in Virginia. Dug flatbuttons with "a lot" of silver still showing and looking pretty can bring $5 to $10.

You asked about how to know if you've found a Tombac button. Tombac is an alloy of about 85% copper and 15% zinc. (That's less zinc than is typically found in yellow brass.) Consequently, actual Tombac is an "orange-ish" or "golden" color. Some modern-era Canadian 5-cent coins were made of Tombac. See the photo below.)

What most diggers call a Tombac button is actually made of "White Tombac"... which has a dull silvery looking color. It is the usual copper-&-zinc Tombac alloy except that it also contains a small amount of the metallic element Arsenic, which has the effect of turning the alloy to a silvery-ish color. Perhaps the presence of a trace of Arsenic is why (White) Tombac buttons tend to come out of the ground looking nearly as clean and shiny as the day they were lost.

 

[Whatdayagot]

In the photo they appear to have a raised-lettering backmark, which on dug-in-the-US brass (or copepr) 1-piece flatbuttons means manufacture between about 1790 into the late-1830s. On buttons from that time-period, the word "gilt" meant gold plating, and the word "plated" meant silver plating. Your buttons are made of the legendary British Sheffield Silverplate, a thin layer of sterling silver bonded onto a layer of copper.

You asked for their value. Dollar-value of ones with no silver remaining is about $1... at least, that's what you can buy "dug" (excavated) ones for at relic-shows here in Virginia. Dug flatbuttons with "a lot" of silver still showing and looking pretty can bring $5 to $10.

You asked about how to know if you've found a Tombac buttons. Tombac is an alloy of about 85% copper and 15% zinc. (That's less zinc than is typically found in yellow brass.) Consequently, actual Tombac is an "orange-ish" or "golden" color. Some modern-era Canadian 5-cent coins were made of Tombac. See the photo below.)

What most diggers call a Tombac button is actually made of "White Tombac"... which has a dull silvery looking color. It is the usual copper-&-zinc Tombac alloy except that it also contains a small amount of the metallic element Arsenic, which has the effect of turning the alloy to a silvery-ish color. Perhaps the presence of a trace of Arsenic is why (White) Tombac buttons tend to come out of the ground looking nearly as clean and shiny as the day the were lost.

Thanks for the great information the reason I ask I had found a larger button same property awhile back and I had taken something else to a museum and they said it was tombac when I got home I cleaned it a bit cause I saw writing and couldn't help myself lol I saw it said PLAT and I stopped cleaning it cause I didn't want to ruin the patina so it's probably not tombac it's probably the same as the ones I just posted except it's much bigger the back "thingy" broke when I was using a toothpick to get dirt out I should have just rinsed it luckily I have the piece when it broke I could see very shiny copper n a little silver- thanks for taking the time to explain it I appreciate it greatly I seem to be on a button streak so I like knowing what I'm finding!! Good hunting!!!