Flat Button?

[RiverRat3]

Hello, I found this today while detecting. Thank god for a pinpointer cause I beleive I would not have found it. The back of the button appears to be broken. Was wondering if it is a button and approximate age. The area hunted is a farm field where we have found many CW relics. Thanks for reading and any help that you may provide.

 

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[BuckleBoy]

It's a tombac button. Late 1700s.

 

[RiverRat3]

It's a tombac button. Late 1700s.

Thanks very much. Its a wonder it has survived that long in the farm field.

 

[BuckleBoy]

It's a tombac button. Late 1700s.

Thanks very much. Its a wonder it has survived that long in the farm field.

For the larger tombac buttons, that's very true. Tombac is a brittle material, and it breaks rather than bending if it is struck by the plow.

Nice find--tombacs are a sign that there could be other early relics waiting there.

 

[RPG]

It's a tombac button. Late 1700s.

Thanks very much. Its a wonder it has survived that long in the farm field.

For the larger tombac buttons, that's very true. Tombac is a brittle material, and it breaks rather than bending if it is struck by the plow.

Nice find--tombacs are a sign that there could be other early relics waiting there.

For some reason tombac buttons hold up very well in the ground. Makes me wonder why we don't use that material more today.

I've never cleaned one with aluminum jelly but someone on here did and it cleaned up really well. Check out Buckle Boy's post on cleaning buttons.

 

[DMN]

I understand they used arsenic in Tombac. I suspect that is why they don't make them any more.