What kind of button is this?

[BenjyH]

Hey I found this button detecting today at an old house. I'm guessing it may be an old navy button but have no idea.
Thanks for the help!







Also what would be a proper way to clean it?

 

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[recondigger]

A clear picture would help some but it looks like a 2 piece navy button.

Dig until your arm falls off

 

[holeDiver]

Me personally I have no idea but I would say navy do to the anchor but I would just try running it under some hot water an maybe a soft tooth brush once the dirt softens I've seen people do that but anyways that's a vary nice find looks early to I would keep hunting that old house good luck an happy hunting

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[recondigger]

Can you read the backmark at all?

Dig until your arm falls off

 

[BenjyH]

I cant make out what it what it says on the back at all. Theres some letters and stuff but i cant tell. its pretty heavy though. And the house was from the late 1800's or early 1900's.

 

[recondigger]

I see the word treble meaning plated three times but other than that no clue

Dig until your arm falls off

 

[fyrffytr1]

I am pretty sure it's U.S. Marines. Maybe late 1800s. Nice find.

 

[smokeythecat]

With the eagle over the anchor like that, looks like US Marines. 19th century more than likely but I'll grab my book and see if I can find something better.

 

[smokeythecat]

Checked out Albert's book, my specialty is earlier buttons but I'll venture an opinion, it's US Marines, It's a 2 piece button with border, with eagle and fouled anchor. I believe I see 13 stars which is correct for marines. That device was first used in 1821, but that was on a 1 piece button, so it's after that date, but probably remains in the 19th century.

 

[BenjyH]

Sweet thanks. And if it helps, it's a hair smaller than a half dollar.

 

[TheCannonballGuy]

Definitely a US Marine Corps button. If the size you reported is accurate ("a hair smaller than a half dollar"), it is strictly from the 20th-Century to the present day, because there were no US Marines buttons that large in the 1800s.

If you can manage to read the backmark's lettering (or even just most of it) with CERTAINTY, tell us what it says, so that we can try to interpet it and time-date it. For example, if you could see a part of the backmark saying "RSTM" it would be a Horstmann Company backmark. Or, "OVIL" would be a Scovill Company backmark.

You might want to try cleaning the button's back by (briefly) soaking it in lemon juice or ammonia or Top Job cleaner, then dip the tip of a toothbrush in the cleaner and gently scrub the button's back.

 

[BenjyH]

I got it, It says waterbury scoville co.

 

[TheCannonballGuy]

Thanks for doing the close examination of the button's backmark in real-life, and interpreting as much of it as possible.

Although bacmarks saying "Scovill Mfg. Co. Waterbury" date from 1850 until 1962 (when the company ceased making buttons), there are some variations in the backmark which enable collectors to narrow down the date-range. Also, your US Marine Corp button being "a hair smaller than a half dollar" means it is strictly 20th-Century. According to the button-book by Alphaeus H. Albert, it would be the 28.5-millimeters size of Marines buttons. If your Marines button was from 1900 to 1920 its backmark would have a ring of dots encircling the lettering. Yours is "plain" (just the lettering) so it dates from sometime between 1920 and 1962. Perhaps somebody here who knows more than I do about 20th-Century US Marines buttons can tell us the specific date when the Uniform Regulations of the US Marines first authorized use of the 28.5-millimeters size.

 

[holeDiver]

Checked out Albert's book, my specialty is earlier buttons but I'll venture an opinion, it's US Marines, It's a 2 piece button with border, with eagle and fouled anchor. I believe I see 13 stars which is correct for marines. That device was first used in 1821, but that was on a 1 piece button, so it's after that date, but probably remains in the 19th century.

Hello smokey my name is Danny I don't no if you had a chance to look at my post on the button I found at an old site I had a couple of really good comments an I've been trying to id it if you could be so kind an take a looksee i'd really appreciate it thanks hope to hear from you


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