Button? Pin? Cuff? Need help!

[granthansen]

I found this little guy and need help with an ID. I obviously haven't cleaned much as I'd like to understand better what it is so I don't destroy it. To help date the area, house was built around 1880. Near this item I also found an 1866 2 cent piece and 1887 IH. To my detector's credit, it was buried 7-8 inches under 2 big rusty nails!

My friend suggests that maybe a stone was secured on the front part?

As for the back, it doesn't seem like it's removable, but I haven't tried too hard to pry it apart. Any thoughts? It measures 18mm x 12mm. Thanks!

 

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[nhbenz]

It appears to me to be a decorative medallion (probably the wrong word) for leather or canvas. (much more likely leather in this case) Could have been used on anything from a saddle to a purse or belt. Fastened to leather in the same way military snaps and grommets were. It seems probable that it it did have a "stone" set in it, which could have been colored glass or semi-precious stone (if it were silver I would have guessed turquoise) as it would have been glued in, rather than fastened by prongs.

 

[granthansen]

It appears to me to be a decorative medallion (probably the wrong word) for leather or canvas. (much more likely leather in this case) Could have been used on anything from a saddle to a purse or belt. Fastened to leather in the same way military snaps and grommets were. It seems probable that it it did have a "stone" set in it, which could have been colored glass or semi-precious stone (if it were silver I would have guessed turquoise) as it would have been glued in, rather than fastened by prongs.

Thanks... I think you're echoing my suspicions as to what it is. I'm going to soak it a bit and try to tooth pick out some of the crud.

 

[granthansen]

Stop the presses! After a one-hour soak, the mud fell off to reveal what I thought was solid metal as semi-opaque glass? Take a look. So I think what we thought was the backside is actually the front

 

[Erik in NJ]

Cool find after the clean up. Maybe it was part of a lamp, where the glass allowed some of the colored light to pass through.

 

[bill from lachine]

grant,

Might be a rosette from a saddle or some such.

Regards + HH

Bill

 

[Breezie]

It looks like a cuff link to me. Neat find Breezie