A fascinating aspect of numismatics that is often overlooked. Your thoughts?

wingedliberty

I was browsing Ebay and came accross this. I am totally enthrawled.
This is totally cool. I love history. Does anybody else think this is amazing?
I would classify this as exonumia, but technically its numismatic , right? Your thoughts?
Buttons were used as a medium of exchange , right? Some contained precious metals.

1798 6th Infantry button


Brian.

MrEureka

Very cool and historical, but no more numismatic than a pair of shoelaces.

Askari

Definitely exonumia, but I'm not sure the pewter buttons served as such. The bronze and brass ones sometimes did. Maybe someone more knowledgeable about collectable memorabilia could tell more.

lordmarcovan

I have the Albert button book. Many of us who are metal detectorists end up learning a bit about military buttons as a sideline, as they are more commonly found than coins, and some (even dug) can fetch a pretty pricetag. I sold a rather ragged Confederate button I found for $110 once, and got $990 for a heavily corroded and bent U.S. Light Dragoons belt plate, which was possibly the second or third known intact example.

It's not numismatic, but it is very historical and interesting. A cool old button is probably my second favorite find to a cool old coin. And is often worth more.

The button in that auction is not a great example, but that's the problem with pewter sometimes. My Light Dragoons belt plate was pewter.

Quite often, the buttons I find have traces of the original gilt surviving. I have even found 1820's-era flat buttons with thread still in the shank!

wingedliberty

Lordmarcovan:
Very informative. Thanks


Brian.

lordmarcovan

That reminds me... a fellow detectorist needs a copy of the Albert book and wants me to find one online for him. It goes in and out of print. Was last published in 1976. While it could certainly use updating, it's a great book and I can heartily recommend it. I believe the actual title is Record of American Military and Uniform Buttons, by Alphaeus H. Albert.

One thing that's interesting about some of the early military buttons is that the eagles on them mirror the reverses of the coins of the period.

When I find a source for an Albert book, I'll leave a link. I think the Book Mart section of Western and Eastern Treasures magazine's website might have 'em. (The "Best Finds" portion of their site is fun to read, too.) Seems like once a year, somebody pops a Chain cent or Pine Tree shilling or something numismatically interesting out of the dirt.

lordmarcovan

Bingo.

Seventh one down, right below Photograde.

GaCoinGuy

I am gonna hafta to see if I can find either of those Indian artifacts books....maybe I can identify this flint
knife I found.

Conder101

<< <i>Buttons were used as a medium of exchange , right? >>


Sometimes they were used as coins in the 1770's and earlier but not as late as the 1790's