JUST HOW BIG DO BUTTONS GET?

EasternShoreMetal

Hero Member
Nov 21, 2014
751
633
Eastern Shore of Maryland
Detector(s) used
Garrett AT Pro w/DD coil.
also, still have a Fisher F2
Primary Interest:
Relic Hunting
I haven't been posting much, and now that warmer weather has returned, I probably will only be on and off. too many things going on at once. I have been trying to keep up with the finds though and lots of you all are doing great!
I got a little time at work today, so gonna try and catch up a little. But I really haven't been finding too much. I have been hitting fields lately looking for colonial silver and so far, only finding some toasted artifacts..
BUT, I have a couple of goodies - to me anyway.

BARBER QUARTER 1912.jpg

I FINALLY found my first Barber! I was tickled. Not in a field tho.

DOG TAX TAG.jpgSTARS BUTTON.jpgFLAT BUTTON.jpgSTAMPED PC.jpgSILVERWARE.jpgMISC.jpgROUNDBALLS.jpg
KG VI 1941.jpg

These are the misc. finds this week the toasted stuff came out of fields around here. I about had a stroke when I saw the ship on the English Half Penny..
What's a great ship like that doing on a modern coin?
The "UNKNOWN" in the 4 pc. pic has a solid brass oval on the end, the shaft is hollow, no threads. ?

BELL.jpgBUCKLE.jpg

Love the tiny bell. I thought it was Christmas ornament till I got home and got it cleaned and saw what it was - neat.

LARGE FLATBUTTON.jpg

And finally THIS.. I have found some big flat buttons. and I have seen you all find bigger. This one is HUGE! Just how big do they get anyway?
I would be interested to see who has the largest flat button.. If I was rich, I'd have contest.
But I'm not, so it'll just have to be for bragging rights.

Great seeing your stuff. Happy Hunting this spring y'all!
 

Upvote 19
Nice finds, glad your getting out. Nice quarter, never found any barber coins yet. That is one big button my biggest is just over a 1 1/2.
 

Great set of finds! Congrats on your first Barber and that huge, big old, dandy flat button. Wtg:icon_thumright:
 

Nice finds, glad your getting out. Nice quarter, never found any barber coins yet. That is one big button my biggest is just over a 1 1/2.

Hey Richard, thanks. Found any new field silver lately? The quarter has really seen a lot of pockets, but I'm happy to finally find one, and you can read everything. HH!
 

Not that it matters much, but the two toasted smaller buttons are mismarked they were 7/8" not 1 1/8".
(in case anyone compares them to something you may have found)
 

There was a time period in the last quarter of the 18th century when they were huge. I think 1 3/8" was about normal. That's also about what the GWs are
image.jpg
image.jpg
Here's a few about that size
 

Congrats Chris on your first Barber Quarter!! Nice variety of cool finds. I think the Liberty Bell is cool as cool can be! Nice save on that one.
 

I like that sterling silverware end! They really new how to put there hearts into the designs...
 

In answer to the question, I measured my largest 18th C Dandy button at 37mm. Hope this helps, although I would be a fool to think I found the largest so maybe 40mm is reasonable.
 

here you go...

1941 George VI Halfpenny
The Britannia image, which had featured on the Half-Penny since the reign of Charles II, was due to be replaced by the image featured here for Edward VIII's proposed coinage. As Edward VIII abdicated before his circulation coins were produced, the design was carried over instead for the ex-King's brother George VI. The ship is thought to represent Sir Francis Drake's flagship, 'The Golden Hind'. This design was featured on the Half-Penny until decimalisation in 1971.
 

The bigger ones are usually called "dandy". May apply to yours definitely.
 

I measured too and have the biggest Dandy Button with 38mm but have the base of a 2-piece button in the button box with 38mm too. This one probably hit the 40mm when complete.
 

There was a time period in the last quarter of the 18th century when they were huge. I think 1 3/8" was about normal. That's also about what the GWs are


Wow! That's impressive Abe!
This was my first this size, and here I must make a correction. I printed out my pic of the button supposedly life sized. then measured it at work before posting. The Large Dandy I have is closer to 1 1/2". I messed the photo sizing. It's still the largest I have. The next size down is 1 5/16". I have a couple of those and I thought they were gigantic. as I posted I messed them up too. Gotta take the pics with a ruler again.
So they are about 33 or 34 mm. The largest is 38 or 39 mm. It just blows me away to think of these giants on clothing. Especially with the small loops they have. They must have just swung around on the garment. Crazy!
 

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Congrats Chris on your first Barber Quarter!! Nice variety of cool finds. I think the Liberty Bell is cool as cool can be! Nice save on that one.

Thanks Bill; I know, I really liked the bell too. It was out of round a little bit, but wasn't hard to round it back out. It must have been a part of some larger pc. I just couldn't get over the
dates when I realized it wasn't a bicentennial but a centennial! sometimes the smallest things are the coolest.

I see you changed your avatar already! lol! VERY NICE FIND!
 

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I like that sterling silverware end! They really new how to put there hearts into the designs...

Thanks, that's my second hollow silver handle. I wonder what they put in them to make them heavier and feel solid? Whatever it was must disintegrate in time and exposure. Plaster?
 

In answer to the question, I measured my largest 18th C Dandy button at 37mm. Hope this helps, although I would be a fool to think I found the largest so maybe 40mm is reasonable.

I did correct my measurement above.. it's actually the same, about 37,38mm as well. And I too am sure there are probably larger.. but why, I wonder? Just to show off, I guess.. lol
 

i just took that out of context when i read this thread title i was thinking you meant a human belly button cause they can be in big sizes until i read the thread the item well i guess there gotta be a man out there wanting to show his huge button collection i think i just made this awkward
 

here you go...

1941 George VI Halfpenny
The Britannia image, which had featured on the Half-Penny since the reign of Charles II, was due to be replaced by the image featured here for Edward VIII's proposed coinage. As Edward VIII abdicated before his circulation coins were produced, the design was carried over instead for the ex-King's brother George VI. The ship is thought to represent Sir Francis Drake's flagship, 'The Golden Hind'. This design was featured on the Half-Penny until decimalisation in 1971.

Thanks for that. I'm still very new to finding the older coins, and esp. the foreign ones. It's a neat looking coin. I did find a 1934 George V LC (Australian) and it seemed more typical. Just seeing that ship and the "Half Cent" before I could see the date had me thinking much earlier. I was dissapointed, but it's still neat.
 

The bigger ones are usually called "dandy". May apply to yours definitely.

I think so too.

I measured too and have the biggest Dandy Button with 38mm but have the base of a 2-piece button in the button box with 38mm too. This one probably hit the 40mm when complete.

That's just gigantic. These things are funny actually. Hard to imagine wearing without catching them on anything. You'd think they would have lost plenty that large! lol.. I remeasured the actual button and mine is the same as yours..
 

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