button ids

[nscrcr8z]

hello everyone
was going thru my buttons today only four ive found.....
a couple of them is rough but a buttons a button huh
any idea what the era might be on the eagle all I can make out on the back looks like leeman mfg maybe?
the smaller one with the p on it still has the shank on back but cant make out the name
the flat looking button is all corroded so have no idea what it is..any ideas on the dates from info I provided they was all found from the info ?
they was all found in the general area
thanks for any info

 

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[RelicDude]

Nice buttons the button with p on it is a police button and the eagle button is a great seal button circa 1902 to present. I thinks that's deffinantly a medical button but for what I don't know.

 

[Breezie]

The first button has the 'Caduceus' symbol, which is 2 snakes intertwined on a rod with wings. It was established as the symbol for medicine in the late 19th and early 20th century basically by mistake instead of the Rod of Asclepius. The Rod of Asclepius was a single snake on a rod, and it symbolized healing and medicine.

Long story made short: Originally the single snake symbolized medicine. Originally the double snake stood for commerce. By mistake, the double snake got chosen for medicine.



Neat finds
Breezie

 

[TheCannonballGuy]

"Button" #1:
Actually, it is not a button -- it is a US Army collar-insignia disc. It is the type manufactured from 1937 to 1943. As Breezie indicated, it is the Army Medical Corps insignia. The version you found consisted of several parts, and yours has been taken apart and re-assembled incorrectly. (The small "pronged" disc should be on the back of the larger main disc.) Go to the following webpage and scroll down to "Type III Disks, 1937-43" -- and in particular, note the photo of a World War Two soldier wearing your version of Medical Corps collar-insignia disc. Dating Metallic Insignia: Collar Disks

Button #2:
It is a "generic" town or city Police button, as RelicDude indicated. That specific version, showing an Old-English Script letter P surrounded by a wreath, can date anywhere from the second half of the 1800s through the present (it is still for sale today in the Waterbury Button Company sales-catalog). We cannot date yours without knowing the name of the manufacturer, marked on the button's back.

Button #3:
You said "the flat looking button is all corroded so have no idea what it is." It might not actually be a button, because there are several similar-looking objects, such as decorative studs from furniture. Can't say for sure without seeing well-focused closeup photos of its back.

Button #4:
As RelicDude indicated, it is a US Army "Great Seal" button. Yours has a raised rim, so it is the post-1910 version. More specifically, yours lacks even a tiny trace of "black finish" on its front, so it is post-1923. (But of course, it's possible that every bit of "black finish" corroded away.) It also lacks any trace of gold gilt, so it is an Enlisted-men's button. (The Officer versions of these buttons were goldplated.)

You said its backmark "looks like Leeman Mfg maybe?" Fellow What-Is-It forum ID-helper BigCypressHunter has a long-running post on Great Seal button backmarks, here: http://www.treasurenet.com/forums/what/112828-great-seal-button-backmarks-help.html
His list of backmarks shows a "R. Liebmann Mfg Co" (of Newark NJ). You might want to try to clean your button's back a bit more, to see if that name matches your button's backmark, or is a different name.

 

[nscrcr8z]

Thank you all four the wonderful info