Button Help????

[xmarks73]

Found Two Years ago, Discovered what it may be today (Rev War Button?)

About two years ago I was detecting in a town that had ripped up their sidewalks and was putting in new. Anybody that has ever done this knows it is a very trying procedure. There is way to much junk that causes way to many false signals. I pulled this button out and it was in real rough shape. It had so much crud caked on it and I really could not tell what it was. The crud was almost cemented to the button so water baths done nothing for it. I could faintly make out a number 2, but that was about it. Everyone on the detecting sites said it had to be a homemade button. Between the bad quality pics and the shape of the button, nobody was able to even make out one of the numbers on it, let alone id it as anything. I could see the 2 and disagreed that it had to be more than just a homemade button but admitted i really did not have any knowledge when it came to id- ing buttons. I put the button in a drawer and came across this link at the bottom that caused me to retrieve it after two years. Over time the sediment had broke down and with one more water bath, here is the image of what I believe is a Revolutionary War Continental Amry Button. Or at the very least from that time Period. (Hoping!

)Please correct me if I am wrong. It just looks so similar to the make of the one listed on this site link. Hopefully military or not, I am one step closer to finding out if this has any historical significance. Thanks all!

Here is a link for. Rev. War 14th Cont. Army Button for sale. What do you all think?

http://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/3566826​

 

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[taz42o]

Are you sure its a button ? Looks like a bale seal to me.

baleclothseals

 

[xmarks73]

Interesting! gonna look into these, thanks.

 

[Iron Patch]

Are you sure its a button ? Looks like a bale seal to me.

baleclothseals

Bale seals tend to not corrode being lead, and the raised circle on the back is what you see on cast pewter buttons. Plus it looks like it has some jagged edges which is more consistent with a pewter button with some edge loss than a seal.... so I don't think it's a seal. (even though the design does look more like a seal than a button)

To the OP, you can easily eliminate seal just by the metal it's made of. Whether it's lead or pewter.

 

[BuckleBoy]

My gut feeling is that the item is not a button, but in fact much more modern than the Rev War.

 

[xmarks73]

It has to be between 1700 to late 1800's. Every item recovered from that sidewalk walk was from that time frame. Seated coins, shield nickels, bank tokens, store cards Indian heads,etc. I am 100% positive that this item is not modern at all.

 

[Breezie]

Is there a loop or opening on the back where it could be attached to clothing?

The '2' font is not consistent with Revolutionary War military buttons. Your font doesn't look quite that old.

Most interesting find Breezie

 

[xmarks73]

On the back in the 1st pic there is a bump where the eye loop could have been, but nothing for certain. I am planning on taking it to a local museum but fear patch is right. There are a lot of knowledgable people in here that doesn't know what it is. It may not ever be solved.

 

[xmarks73]

Oops, meant to say it had to be on the time frame of late 1700's to late 1800's. I don't remember off the top of my head but it was sometime in the mid 17's that the town was founded. Thx

 

[CRUSADER]

this is one of the few items I would need in my hands, many are easy on photos, (but they are not that clear) & something is looking wrong for it being a button. Where is the iron shank residue on the reverse?