✅ SOLVED LEAVENWORTH & CO SUPERFINE Staff Officers cuff Button Backmark Help.

bonepicker

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Jan 5, 2012
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Was hoping to get some help on this backmark.
My Tices book says Leavenworth & Co. was used around late 183's-40's.
Any ideas.
IMG_E1830.JPGP1010014.JPG
 

Help? What else do you want to know, besides the fact that the McGuinn-&-Bazelon book on dating button backmarks closely agrees with Tice, saying that company was in business with THAT name from 1839 into 1849.

Okay, I'll try to help. :) It is a cuff-size 3-piece button with an unusually wide rim for that time-period. Usually, having an extra-wide rim on a 3-piece button means it is from the 1870s or later. There are only a couple-or-three exceptions to that rule in Northern-made civil war era uniform buttons.
 

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The rim did seem a bit wide. Matter of fact when I first found I was thinking civilian.
I thought most 3 piece buttons didn’t come into making until the 1860’s, but according to the books the backmark suggests it is a bit older.
i couldn’t find exact matches online. Relicman shows a 3 piece staff officer with leavenworth backmark, but it appears to be a different variation.
was just wondering what others thought.
thznkz for the response c b g.
 

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Sounds like you have all the information that you're looking for. :thumbsup:

This button appears to be an exceptionally well-made two-piece cuff button, but I defer to TCG's experience with US made buttons.
My expertise leans toward Canadian and British-made buttons.

Nice that your find has so much information and gold gilt remaining as well. :o

Dave
 

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Great relic seems to have some unique qualities to it. Well done on the Ids
 

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Thanks Antiquarian. The extra wide rim and the amount of remaining gilt threw me off a little bit. It was kind of shallow as well. Most buttons i dig do not have much gilt.
At first i thought it was a more modern civilian button. It wasnt until getting it cleaned enough to read the back mark, that i thought it might be an older military button.
There wasnt a lot of information about Leavenworth in my book, and i could not find an exact match online, so i just wanted some confirmation.
Pics from Ridgeway with similar variation. That website dates the pictured button to the 1840's
B7402A[1].jpgB7402B[1].jpg
 

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Just found this US Button Makers back-mark dating list, thought it might be of interest. :thumbsup:

Button Back Marks

"Caution about this list, there are some known errors on it, specifically the Scovill portion and maybe others." - nhBenz

Dave
 

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This Man is on fire, a sweet US Staff indeed.
 

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Help? What else do you want to know, besides the fact that the McGuinn-&-Bazelon book on dating button backmarks closely agrees with Tice, saying that company was in business with THAT name from 1839 into 1849.

Okay, I'll try to help. :) It is a cuff-size 3-piece button with an unusually wide rim for that time-period. Usually, having an extra-wide rim on a 3-piece button means it is from the 1870s or later. There are only a couple-or-three exceptions to that rule in Northern-made civil war era uniform buttons.

Great info as usual.

Mr. TheCannonBallGuy , your PM in box is full & it won't let any new PM's go through.
Just letting you know.


Oh Thanks for the use of your thread bonepicker , I got a couple Tokens from your area , ill send them to you if you like .
 

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Antiquarian wrote:
>Just found this US Button Makers back-mark dating list, thought it might be of interest.
thumbsup.gif

>
Button Back Marks
>"Caution about this list, there are some known errors on it, specifically the Scovill portion and maybe others." - nhBenz

The fact that the author of the "Button Back Marks" website ALWAYS miss-spells the name Waterbury (in every entry), and the name of the maker of Bonepicker's button (Leavenworth), ought to give y'all a couple of clues that his/her backmark-dating information is untrustworthy... and that his/her website is unworthy of being posted as a button-dating reference. As NHBenz helpfully indicated already, that website has more than just a few other more-serious errors. :( You would think its owner could have spent $25 for a copy of McGuinn-&-Bazelon's book "American Military Button Makers And Dealers; Their Backmarks & Dates." OR.... corrected the errors reported to him/her by people like me. But nope, that website seems to have sat exactly as-is for the past 5 years or more. Thus, I long ago deleted my web-browser's "bookmark" for it.
 

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