Button help

[PalmettoJoel]

I found this today at my new favorite spot. It says "treble plated" on the back. After searching google I learned that many various buttons have the same back mark. I was wondering what kind of button it is and an approximate time frame. Thanks guys!

 

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[duggap]

We refer to that as a ball button. They were worn on civil war coats and civilian coats and, I understand, they are still made. So a date range would be hard.

 

[TheCannonballGuy]

The two-word term "Treble Plated" was used in button backmarks from about 1800 onward into the mid-1800s. I have not seen any "later" buttons with that phrase in the backmark.

Additional info:
In that time-period, the word "plated" always meant silverplating, and the word "gilt" was used for goldplating.
"Treble Plate" meant three layers of silver on top of the base metal.
In that time-period, it referred to "Sheffield Plate," a method of silverplating invented in 1743 in Sheffield England.
Sheffield plate - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The article explains why the "Plated" backmark died out in the mid-1800s... Sheffield Plate mostly got replaced around 1840 by a cheaper, newly-invented method -- electroplating.

 

[PalmettoJoel]

Thanks guys! I really appreciate the insight! And I actually read that entire link cannonball. It was very informing and interesting!