Need help identifying Pre- War of 1812 16 Star Naval Button

gpgodwin

Greenie
Aug 10, 2011
11
26
Southshore Massachusetts
Detector(s) used
AT Pro & CTX 3030
I have attached images of what I think is a US Naval button that I found today at a Colonial era ship yard that operated until the 1850's here in Massachusetts. The button is just a hair larger than 7/8" in diameter and the front has the old style pre-civil war Eagle design with an anchor and 16 stars (instead of 13 stars). The back side has "Orange" with 3 stars on each side of "Orange" and a small eagle centered between the 2 sets of 3 stars. I have not been able to find a match, or even a button that is close in design. My only lead is that the 16 stars could represent the number of States in the Union at the time the button was produced, which is 1796 to 1803, or between when Tennessee was admitted as the 16th state in 1796 and then Ohio in 1803 as the 17th State. Any help would be appreciated!


Naval Button Front.JPGNaval Button Back.JPG
 

Although that specific backmark is not listed your button resembles NA 81A in Albert's button book.
 

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    NA81.png
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Thank you. I re-measured and the button is 23 mm. Maybe someone else has additional information re the backmark. Does the book have a date range for these buttons?
 

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