Very interesting. That’s one I haven’t seen before. It’s certainly a Welsh dragon and with a legend in Welsh. I have some family connections to Wales although the language is not one of my strong points but the possible translation depends hugely on whether there are any intended spaces in the letters, and particularly whether the space between ANORCH/YGOL is simply an interruption from the outstretched wing.
My feeling is that it’s an unintended space and it then potentially translates as “Irresistible” (in the sense of a dominant force rather than in the sense of seductively attractive) or more loosely as “Invincible”.
That would make more sense to me because I have a feeling in my water that ‘MVL’ might be related to ‘Monmouth(shire) Loyal Volunteers’, which would put the button sometime in the very early 1800s. I know that there were two yeomanry troops formed at Chepstow and Monmouth in 1798 and there are then mentions of various ‘Monmouth Volunteers’ shortly afterward (but they’re all poorly documented):
Monmouth Volunteers, established 22nd August 1803 under the command of Thomas Molyneux
Monmouthshire Yeomanry, established 22nd August 1803 under the command of Richard Lewis
Monmouthshire Volunteers, established 8th September 1803 under the command of Charles Morgan
Monmouth Volunteers, established 24th November 1803
Loyal Monmouthshire Volunteer Cavalry, c1809(?)
If it does relate to the above then it’s a pretty obscure button and a very nice scarce find. I’ve asked the Monmouth museum services if they can confirm or refute any of that and will let you know if they come up trumps.
