Military Button Help..........

[julesjunk]

Found this button in an orchard of a home built in the 1790's on a farmstead just outside Newcastle, Maine. Other found items of interest ranged from the 1850's to present. It's a one piece, near exactly the same diameter as a Lincoln penny. Although it appears there's possibly an "A" or something in the shield, under a loop, I can't see anything discernable. The back is concave in shape, has 9 four-dot star like markings around the edge along with the word, "SCOVILLS".

Any and all help would be greatly appreciated.

Regards,
Jules

 

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[SgtSki in MI]

Good Job!!! That's an Federal (Union) Artillery cuff button. That's what the A is for. I was infantry, C was Cavalry, before the Cavalry was called the Cavalry they were dragoons, and there was a D button for that. Then R was for Military Railroad. Just a shield with no letter is a Staff button. The Engineers had their own button which was MUCH cooler. They also remain the only branch of the Army that has its own button and it's still worn today. Here's a pic of it:



As to value, I'm not a big button guy, and I don't own an Albert's Button Guide, but there's plenty on this forum that know much more about them than I do.

WTG!!!!!
SgtSki

 

[Montana Jim]

In addition to SgtSki's fantastic information... here are the dates related to the Scovill back marks.

LEVENWORTH, HAYDEN & SCOVILL 1811-1827
J.M.L. & W.H. SCOVILL 1827-1840
SCOVILLS 1827-1840
SCOVILLS & CO. 1840-1850
SCOVILL MANUFACTURING CO. 1850-1960
SCOVILL Mg. Co. 1850-1865
SCOVILL Mg. Co. / WATURBURY CT. 1850-1865
SCOVILL Mf''g Co. WATURBURY CT. 1850-1865
SCOVILL Mf''g Co. WATURBURY 1850-1865
SCOVILL Mfg Co. WATURBURY CT. 1850-1865

Your button is awesome, I have yet to find an "A" artillery eagle... WTG! Older than Civil War it looks like... a real keeper!

 

[Angelo]

Hey Jules!

Here's a bunch of Scovill buttons. Yours may be there.

http://www.civilwarbuttons.com/uscentrlist.htm

Tony

 

[julesjunk]

thanks for the vast amount of info! Let me pic your brains more. Just from looking at the pics I took a few days ago while in Maine, to looking at it now, there is noticably more "damage" to it. (compare the first two pics to the last two) The surface is flaking off, and I've done nothing more than delicate handling. Should I oil this thing? Olive oil?

 

[Montana Jim]

My opinion is... leave it alone.

If you're concerned with value... just leave it alone.

If you're concerned with it looking pretty and will never sell it... use the olive oil. Have you ever used it before?

 

[julesjunk]

My opinion is... leave it alone.

If you're concerned with value... just leave it alone.

If you're concerned with it looking pretty and will never sell it... use the olive oil. Have you ever used it before?

Not concerned with value, and it will be kept. I'm sure putting it in a carryon with numerous other items while coming home yesterday didn't do it any favors.

I've used olive oil several times on indian heads. In fact, I've got several sitting in shot glasses by the microwave right now. A couple going back to early summer. My wife doesn't think too kindly of the display
I've not tried it as a preservative before though. Any tricks?

 

[Montana Jim]

Maybe you'll get more replies...

I've used olive oil on maybe three of my bottons... I cleaned and removed crude which is awesome, and darkens the the button because it absorbs the oil. I think the one piece would work better then the two piece buttons because the oil continues to seep back out... and will for years prolly.

It's not a bad thing and presumably protects it from further deterioration...

Disclaimer: I give "free bad advise".

Good luck either way.

 

[julesjunk]

Disclaimer: I give "free bad advise".

Misdirection is better than no direction at all........

Thanks for the tips!

 

[SgtSki in MI]

My Button Story

While this post probably doesn't really belong in this thread, a memory concerning buttons came to mind this morning when I was scanning the postings.

It's somewhat embrassing though.

In the Summer of 1984, I was an 18-yr-old Marine Pfc attending school at Naval Air Station Memphis in Millington, TN. I was relatively new at metal detecting, having just gotten into it less than 2 years prior. I hadn't really studied the hobby, and had no knowledge of the significance of find beyond coins and jewelry. I was detecting a field SE of Millington that looked like it had a homesite on it because I saw brick fragments and bits of glass, china, and crockery in the soil. I found a few Indian Heads and a nickel 3c Piece but that was about it for coins. I also found a bunch of other stuff too but just thought it was junk. Among this junk were some old bullets and pesky old buttons. I recall that most of these buttons had an eagle on them with a letter I, or A. and a few were plain except for a rim and a big letter "I" (I also thought it may have been a Roman Numeral 1. There were also some other buttons of similar size that had designs on them that I didn't recognize and can't remember.

Guess where the uneducated newbie put them? STRAIGHT into the junk pouch!!! When I got back to the Barracks, I put my coins aside into my pocket, and dumped the ENTIRE contents of my pouch (which was a nail apron) STRAIGHT into the TRASH CAN!!!

.......needless to say, I mentally kick myself in the butt EVERY time I see a military button find!!! Since then I have managed to find ONE military button, a NY Coat Button that I found at one of my spots in Michigan.

Anyway, there's my button story.

HH,
SgtSki

 

[Montana Jim]

Re: My Button Story

While this post probably doesn't really belong in this thread, a memory concerning buttons came to mind this morning when I was scanning the postings.

It's somewhat embrassing though.

In the Summer of 1984, I was an 18-yr-old Marine Pfc attending school at Naval Air Station Memphis in Millington, TN. I was relatively new at metal detecting, having just gotten into it less than 2 years prior. I hadn't really studied the hobby, and had no knowledge of the significance of find beyond coins and jewelry. I was detecting a field SE of Millington that looked like it had a homesite on it because I saw brick fragments and bits of glass, china, and crockery in the soil. I found a few Indian Heads and a nickel 3c Piece but that was about it for coins. I also found a bunch of other stuff too but just thought it was junk. Among this junk were some old bullets and pesky old buttons. I recall that most of these buttons had an eagle on them with a letter I, or A. and a few were plain except for a rim and a big letter "I" (I also thought it may have been a Roman Numeral 1. There were also some other buttons of similar size that had designs on them that I didn't recognize and can't remember.

Guess where the uneducated newbie put them? STRAIGHT into the junk pouch!!! When I got back to the Barracks, I put my coins aside into my pocket, and dumped the ENTIRE contents of my pouch (which was a nail apron) STRAIGHT into the TRASH CAN!!!

.......needless to say, I mentally kick myself in the butt EVERY time I see a military button find!!! Since then I have managed to find ONE military button, a NY Coat Button that I found at one of my spots in Michigan.

Anyway, there's my button story.

HH,
SgtSki

Ouch...