WASHINGTON INAUGURAL BUTTON?

CoinNewBee

I probably should post this on the NGC message board, but PCGS folks just seem to know more.
Can anyone identify this button as a Washington Inaugural Button>
I can't find a similar one with the cornucopia under the crown.
The reverse is blank with the shank intact.

BillJones

If it is it is an unlisted variety, but I don't think that the design would have lent itself to United States politics at the time. While there were some "high Federalists" who favored a ruling class, I don't think that they would have been bold or foolish enough to have issued a button that talked about making Washington a king. The image of a crown together with the word "king" would have been a major turn-off for most Americans. They had just won a war to get rid of a king just seven years before.

jonathanb

I'm going to say "Not a Washington button". It wasn't included in the huge Cobb collection several years ago. The standard reference on buttons is Political Campaign and Commemorative Buttons by Albert. It's not a super-expensive book, but I don't have a copy myself. Perhaps a board member can look yours up.

BillJones

Looking at the Cobb collection, I see a couple of pieces with "Long live the king" in them with a crown, but I think that those pieces must be British. I can't believe that they are American or Washington buttons.

I read a book a few years ago about how the new American citizens treated the Tories after the Revolutionary War. It was not a pretty picture. Some of them were run off their land and forced to immigrate to British colonies. In a few cases the patriots beat up the loyalists and burned their property.

Although it was prior to the war the scene in the HBO series about the life of John Adams where are a loyalist was stripped naked and covered with tar and feathers was not a work of fiction. It happened. I think that you would have run some risks if you had at worn a button like this in the United States at that time.

BTW these buttons were not sewn on to the garments on which they were used. They were worn as we wear cuff links today with straight pin fastener used to hold them on the coat. When the wearer removed the garment he would also remove the buttons and store them as you would jewelry. These buttons were not cheap in those days the owners took care of them

CoinNewBee

Well there have been several "Long Live the King" with a crown buttons sold by Stack's and Heritage that they attribute as Washington Inaugural buttons.
It's the same crown, but this says Constitution and has a Cornucopia.
I did look at the Cobb collection, but that collection doesn't include a few other designs that I've seen attributers as Washington by major auction houses.
It's also not listed in Dewitt's list of Washington Inaugural buttons.
If I could identify even one Washington button with a cornucopia I'd feel comfortable this is one.

Mockingjay

Canada comes to mind when speaking of both King and Constitution in the same breath. Their constitution was ratified in 1867. This fits with the apparent age of the button.

Do any of our canadian members think this is possible?

coindeuce

<< <i>Canada comes to mind when speaking of both King and Constitution in the same breath. Their constitution was ratified in 1867. This fits with the apparent age of the button.

Do any of our canadian members think this is possible? >>



My thoughts as well. There were many Loyalists present in Southern Ontario well beyond the time of the War of 1812.

Here is a Canadian eBay member's listing (you?) of an identical button, without any formal documentation for the description given. I have good reason to believe that being located with a Kingston Ontario seller it is more likely to have originated from a Canadian Loyalist. There is a strong hub of Loyalists that remain today in the agricultural communities of nearby Prince Edward Peninsula (Picton, Ontario).

CoinNewBee

Well I did find a nice reference web site you may want to look at.

http://georgewashingtoninauguralbuttons.com

It does have a King & Constitution attributed as a Washington Inaugural Medal. It shows a flower crossed with a thistle under the crown, the same general design motif as this one but with a wheat stalks crossed with a cornucopia.

However a google search of "Canada King & Constitution Button" showed buttons as well but a different motif.