Colonial Patriotic pewter button faux Spanish Reale

j.d. in the usa

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Sep 21, 2003
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Allentown Pa.
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DFX 300
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Upvote 19
Shame its broke but still a nice example, one of the bigger ones I've seen.
 

Sure it's not a real coin made into a button? I would think if it was pewter, the surface and edges would see a lot more corrosion. The pewter stuff I've found sure does!
 

Sure it's not a real coin made into a button? I would think if it was pewter, the surface and edges would see a lot more corrosion. The pewter stuff I've found sure does!
I would say Tombac by the way it broke, maybe?
 

Very cool relic/jewelry item! :occasion14:
 

Amazing finds the coin and button being broke makes an even more interesting find I would love to find either one of those. Well done. Tommy
 

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Well if I dont find another thing today has already been a great day! First find is a Colonial Patriotic coat button about the size of a quarter... I believe pewter not 100% sure though 1750-1780’s ... here’s a link all about patriotic buttons! Patriotic & Commemorative Buttons
Outstanding Find...! really...!!!
Careful dirt/crud removal, some,
to reveal any remaining details of the obverse
of that "coin"-looking surface of that Button.
Also careful of how the shank was put on originally...!
Good luck, and show us of your results....!@
Thanks !
 

I was just reading an old western and eastern treasures from 98 or 99 i believe. There is an article about a coin button like yours that looks like a reale. When i get home i will find it again and post which month and year it was in. What i remember reading was these buttons where made for jackets worn by spanish showing pride for there heritage and history. I forget the year on the one in the article but i would be curious if yours had a date if it matched the one in the article. I think it might have been a pillar variety. When i get home i will find it again and post more
 

I was just reading an old western and eastern treasures from 98 or 99 i believe. There is an article about a coin button like yours that looks like a reale. When i get home i will find it again and post which month and year it was in. What i remember reading was these buttons where made for jackets worn by spanish showing pride for there heritage and history. I forget the year on the one in the article but i would be curious if yours had a date if it matched the one in the article. I think it might have been a pillar variety. When i get home i will find it again and post more
I was just reading an old western and eastern treasures from 98 or 99 i believe. There is an article about a coin button like yours that looks like a reale. When i get home i will find it again and post which month and year it was in. What i remember reading was these buttons where made for jackets worn by spanish showing pride for there heritage and history. I forget the year on the one in the article but i would be curious if yours had a date if it matched the one in the article. I think it might have been a pillar variety. When i get home i will find it again and post more
Please let me know. I’m curious to know when these would have been made.
 

I would say Tombac by the way it broke, maybe?
I have found 8 of these, 5 of which were cufflinks and 3 of which were larger button types. I'm not sure what the alloy is that they were made from. Definitely not your classic tombac like we see in buttons, and not pewter either. It is brittle though. Sort of a cross between tombac and pewter.
 

Nice find!
Spanish coins seem to have been a popular fashion statement in the 18th century. I have 3 genuine Spanish half reals that had shanks added, presumably for cufflinks, one linked pair of the Spanish coin facsimile cufflinks, two more single cufflinks with the loop still attached, anther cufflink sized one and 3 larger button sized ones. All were found in Southwestern Pennsylvania, and several of them on a Rev War period military site.
 

I have found 8 of these, 5 of which were cufflinks and 3 of which were larger button types. I'm not sure what the alloy is that they were made from. Definitely not your classic tombac like we see in buttons, and not pewter either. It is brittle though. Sort of a cross between tombac and pewter.
Do you think these were made soon after the date on the “coin?” It would stink, just a little bit, if my “1767” example was made in 1840 as a vintage item to remember the past or something. Kind of like someone wearing an indian head penny gold ring today.
 

Do you think these were made soon after the date on the “coin?” It would stink, just a little bit, if my “1767” example was made in 1840 as a vintage item to remember the past or something. Kind of like someone wearing an indian head penny gold ring today.
All the ones I've found were on 18th century sites and I am confident that they were made relatively soon after the date on the coin. By the way, one of mine is 1767.
12650527_1676274639317802_1863154822_n.jpg
 

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