Who could put a value on this militia button?

[coinshooter]

Georgia Militia Civil War Era Medium Coat Button : Lot 23

 

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[G.I.B.]

I see it's $30 to ship. Must be a heavy button.

It's so hard to say the value of this- so many great forgeries floating out there.

Starting bid is two bucks so that seems safe. Total cost, $32.

 

[jewelerguy]

I wouldn't have a clue, but that shipping charge is ridiculous

 

[TheCannonballGuy]

Georgia State Seal buttons with the "Van Wart Son & Co." backmark were manufactured in Britain during the civil war, but none have been documented as having been excavated from a civil war battlesite or campsite. Therefore, civil war button collectors believe the Van Wart Son & Co. buttons did not manage to get through the yankee navy's blockade of southern seaports before the war ended. Probably, they were ordered but not shipped because the Confederate customer turned out not to be able to pay with gold, instead of Confederate paper money. That button is shown in the book "Record Of American Uniform And Historical Buttons (by Alphaeus H. Albert) as button GA-5A.

On the civil war button collecting market, the Van Wart backmarked GA Seal buttons usually sell for about $150. Here's a link to a major civil war button dealer's website, where he has reduced his asking-price down from $155 to $125. Scroll down to his button #cs018.
William Leigh: Confederate State Buttons

 

[doninbrewster]

This piece is offered by "government auction . com" No wonder shipping is $30. You see this type of garbage all the time. It's a big problem with coins with companies with names like US government mint gold coin reserve or some other sort of BS. I wouldn't ever buy anything from one of these firms. In my opinion I think they are all crooks. Do you actually want to just give you money to a crook? I think not. Find one of these buttons with someone else. JMHO.

 

[danimal03]

I have collected buttons since I was 12. In 20 years and spending a fortune; I can now say I have an example of every issued button, North and South, of every button both state and central government. You don't want a Van Wart button for your collection as it has already been pointed out; none were issued. It seems they were made circa March 1865 and arrived too late to be issued. The there are some rarer versions of the Van Wart such as NC; but I would stay away from all of them.

The most common GA button made that saw conflict are the Horstmann and Allein marked buttons. These were ordered by the boatload for issue to the militias that were beefing themselves up for the perceived impending conflict. They were made circa 1860. This is the most common excavated GA button. They saw the entire war and are found virtually everywhere that had GA troops. Though non-dug specimens are a little harder to find than dug ones; there are still plenty. I had purchased a grouping of 6 found in a drawer in Crawford, GA last year. I subsequently sold them off. I recently wholesaled the last three to a famous dealer for $100 a piece. This type of button retails between $185-$225. Though generally speaking; buttons are on the soft side of prices at the moment. But if you were to fish around the internet auction sites I would bet you could find one going for between $125-$150.

There are other GA's with different backmarks that are perfectly fine and saw service. But if you are not familiar with backmarks you need to be careful as there are lots of post war buttons on these sites that are purported to be wartime but they are not. You may want to invest in Tice's button books if you want to collect buttons. they are an invaluable asset though there are some errors in them. but the errors are linked to obscure buttons that only a few know what they are. For main stream buttons these books will work great. Albert's button book can be useful tool but it is older and contains more errors.

The Van Warts try and retail for $150. but I can tell you it is very rare they sell at this price. When I started button collecting I bought a Van Wart SC because it was such a 'good deal'. Once I learned their true history I quickly dumbed the button at a loss just to be rid of it. Then I invested in all the books I could get and I finally replaced it with a blank backmarked wide channel SC with loads of character that I still have to this day. I personally feel a Van Wart would sell on an auction site for around $50 as they are common and very few want them. I would not pay $50 for one. If I were walking around a show and saw some; I might consider $20 or so as re-enactors may want them for their jackets. but most serious collectors like myself do not want these buttons. Hope this info helps and I wish you luck in collecting buttons. Buttons are windows into the times and tell a vast amount in their construction, various backmarks, etc. it is a fascinating world and I hope you enjoy your journey.

 

[Ia.FurTrade]

I have collected buttons since I was 12. In 20 years and spending a fortune; I can now say I have an example of every issued button, North and South, of every button both state and central government. You don't want a Van Wart button for your collection as it has already been pointed out; none were issued. It seems they were made circa March 1865 and arrived too late to be issued. The there are some rarer versions of the Van Wart such as NC; but I would stay away from all of them.

The most common GA button made that saw conflict are the Horstmann and Allein marked buttons. These were ordered by the boatload for issue to the militias that were beefing themselves up for the perceived impending conflict. They were made circa 1860. This is the most common excavated GA button. They saw the entire war and are found virtually everywhere that had GA troops. Though non-dug specimens are a little harder to find than dug ones; there are still plenty. I had purchased a grouping of 6 found in a drawer in Crawford, GA last year. I subsequently sold them off. I recently wholesaled the last three to a famous dealer for $100 a piece. This type of button retails between $185-$225. Though generally speaking; buttons are on the soft side of prices at the moment. But if you were to fish around the internet auction sites I would bet you could find one going for between $125-$150.

There are other GA's with different backmarks that are perfectly fine and saw service. But if you are not familiar with backmarks you need to be careful as there are lots of post war buttons on these sites that are purported to be wartime but they are not. You may want to invest in Tice's button books if you want to collect buttons. they are an invaluable asset though there are some errors in them. but the errors are linked to obscure buttons that only a few know what they are. For main stream buttons these books will work great. Albert's button book can be useful tool but it is older and contains more errors.

The Van Warts try and retail for $150. but I can tell you it is very rare they sell at this price. When I started button collecting I bought a Van Wart SC because it was such a 'good deal'. Once I learned their true history I quickly dumbed the button at a loss just to be rid of it. Then I invested in all the books I could get and I finally replaced it with a blank backmarked wide channel SC with loads of character that I still have to this day. I personally feel a Van Wart would sell on an auction site for around $50 as they are common and very few want them. I would not pay $50 for one. If I were walking around a show and saw some; I might consider $20 or so as re-enactors may want them for their jackets. but most serious collectors like myself do not want these buttons. Hope this info helps and I wish you luck in collecting buttons. Buttons are windows into the times and tell a vast amount in their construction, various backmarks, etc. it is a fascinating world and I hope you enjoy your journey.

Super post, Danimal..........Way to "tell it like it is" !

 

[doninbrewster]

This is the way to answer a question. It goes to show how much knowledge the people here have. I particularly like the point Danimal made about buying the books. There's a saying in coin collecting, "buy the book before you buy the coin". I think this holds true with buttons also. As I read more in this forum I get more interested in buttons. Finding two war of 1812 artillery buttons a few weeks ago doesn't hurt getting my interest going either. Great post Danimal!

I have collected buttons since I was 12. In 20 years and spending a fortune; I can now say I have an example of every issued button, North and South, of every button both state and central government. You don't want a Van Wart button for your collection as it has already been pointed out; none were issued. It seems they were made circa March 1865 and arrived too late to be issued. The there are some rarer versions of the Van Wart such as NC; but I would stay away from all of them.

The most common GA button made that saw conflict are the Horstmann and Allein marked buttons. These were ordered by the boatload for issue to the militias that were beefing themselves up for the perceived impending conflict. They were made circa 1860. This is the most common excavated GA button. They saw the entire war and are found virtually everywhere that had GA troops. Though non-dug specimens are a little harder to find than dug ones; there are still plenty. I had purchased a grouping of 6 found in a drawer in Crawford, GA last year. I subsequently sold them off. I recently wholesaled the last three to a famous dealer for $100 a piece. This type of button retails between $185-$225. Though generally speaking; buttons are on the soft side of prices at the moment. But if you were to fish around the internet auction sites I would bet you could find one going for between $125-$150.

There are other GA's with different backmarks that are perfectly fine and saw service. But if you are not familiar with backmarks you need to be careful as there are lots of post war buttons on these sites that are purported to be wartime but they are not. You may want to invest in Tice's button books if you want to collect buttons. they are an invaluable asset though there are some errors in them. but the errors are linked to obscure buttons that only a few know what they are. For main stream buttons these books will work great. Albert's button book can be useful tool but it is older and contains more errors.

The Van Warts try and retail for $150. but I can tell you it is very rare they sell at this price. When I started button collecting I bought a Van Wart SC because it was such a 'good deal'. Once I learned their true history I quickly dumbed the button at a loss just to be rid of it. Then I invested in all the books I could get and I finally replaced it with a blank backmarked wide channel SC with loads of character that I still have to this day. I personally feel a Van Wart would sell on an auction site for around $50 as they are common and very few want them. I would not pay $50 for one. If I were walking around a show and saw some; I might consider $20 or so as re-enactors may want them for their jackets. but most serious collectors like myself do not want these buttons. Hope this info helps and I wish you luck in collecting buttons. Buttons are windows into the times and tell a vast amount in their construction, various backmarks, etc. it is a fascinating world and I hope you enjoy your journey.