Found a old(?) button...

[Aaron]

I dont know anything about buttons, however I really like them. The SE w/the 5" Sun Ray coil found this one about 6 inches down in my old park. The button has a nice green patina to it and the writing on the back says "PICH COLOUR". I'm not sure if this button is very old, however the park has had activity in it for the last 150yrs. Any back ground info would be appreciated.
Thanks, aaron

 

[Southwind]

I believe that is RICH COLOUR. Early 1800's flat button. I found one just like it, but with the shank gone, at a fort site that was used from 1845 to 1848.

 

[TheOtherLeggoHead]

You need some Palmolive on those paws Aaron.

 

[dewcon4414]

Yep a RICH colour button likely circa 1800 when England was still the major producer of buttons for us. There are some that read Rich Gold and Rich Superior and Rich Orange as well. Gilt started making buttons around the 1830s. Ive found a good many of them this year.... lot of history. Hard to date buttons... sometimes you can from the shank... brazed, pressed, or soldered. Then there were flat, two part and pressed two part... then bone and some kind of ones from an island tree.... then plastic in the early 1900s. Keep an eye out for those Scofield ones they normally are military or RR.

Dew

 

[CSA GHOST]

Hi Aaron,
Yes, it's a one piece button. Commonly referred to as a "coin, penny or flat" button. These early buttons were mostly made in Europe. The word "gilt" refers to the coating or plating. Usually gold but sometimes silver was used. To put gold gilt into perspective, you could plate everything in a master bedroom with a small baby food jar of gold. A little goes a long way. Treble gilt meant it was plated 3 times. Rich orange colour, Superior etc., meant of good quality. Most one piece buttons have blank fronts. However, some have geometric designs, flowers, birds and other devices. The early political backmarks (Andrew Jackson) are rare and very collectible.
Good hunting,
David K.

 

[dewcon4414]

Great post CSA. Butons are one of those things hard to pin down as far as dating them just because some of the backs like the scoville were mixed and used at later periods. I was reading some info on that GILT process... very interesting. If you want a little info check out the web landsend dot com its a good starting point.

Dew