Strange Button

[PSS1963]

I dug an odd button at my brother's farm this past Sunday. Its about the size of a penny but a bit thicker and made of metal, though I'm unsure just what type of metal. It rang up as a nickel (18-20) on the MXT which is why I dug it. Later after cleaning it up a bit I rechecked the VDI and found it would only ring up between 10 and 14. The design is a wreath with what appears to be a bow at the top. The center device looks like it could be a fruit or a flower or maybe an acorn - not sure. Between this and the wreath are fine rays. The back is flat. I read in a couple places that many old buttons are made of pewter and if so they will mark a piece of paper like a pencil but I tried it and it made no mark. The metal has no obvious corrosion, but if you look at the edge it looks like its coming apart into very thin layers like pastry crust. Has anybody seen one like this before and can you shed come light on what its made of and maybe how old it is? It may not mean anything but I found it in the same spot as a coin spill that dated to around 1935/6.

[attachment 312713 button_crop.jpg]

Thanks for looking!

-pete

 

[mudpuppy]

I'm going to guess its an apple or perhaps cranberry farm your Brother has? Thats the only things that grow on the East coast are apples and cranberries right?

Oh, the button! Silly me! Well, I think from your description of it flaking and all, its some sort of cheap pot metal...probably like you said, in the mid to early 1900's...throw it away and keep hunting, or you will wind up with a whole jar full of that interesting junk! Or, put it up on Ebay and list it as an assumed button off of a pilgrims trousers...or a viking, whatever you think is best...Aint this Sport a wonderment Pete?
Mud

 

[shadowman]

I think it may be made of zinc. just a guess.

 

[PSS1963]

I think it may be made of zinc. just a guess.

I thought of zinc. It seems a good possibility. What gives me pause is that zinc pennies are often far more deteriorated after only a quarter as much time in the ground. Also, the VDI was well below where a zinc penny normally rings up - but maybe there is more variability in that than I expect.

Thanks for the input!

-pete

 

[PSS1963]

I'm going to guess its an apple or perhaps cranberry farm your Brother has? Thats the only things that grow on the East coast are apples and cranberries right?

Oh, the button! Silly me! Well, I think from your description of it flaking and all, its some sort of cheap pot metal...probably like you said, in the mid to early 1900's...throw it away and keep hunting, or you will wind up with a whole jar full of that interesting junk! Or, put it up on Ebay and list it as an assumed button off of a pilgrims trousers...or a viking, whatever you think is best...Aint this Sport a wonderment Pete?
Mud

Ok, that wasn't even a little bit constructive!

Yes, Massachusetts has cranberry bogs but they are mostly on the South Shore (i.e. south of Boston) and Cape Cod areas. Apple trees grow pretty much anywhere. Parts of the east coast much further south of us have very fertile farmlands - that's largely because the glaciers scraped up our top soil and dumped it down there and they benefited from it. The North Shore including Cape Ann is very rocky (except for small pockets like Danvers which have pretty nice soil). My brother's land is very typical Northern New England farmland . . . its only farmland in the academic sense of the word. The colonists in the 1600's and 1700's cleared all the land because they thought that is what they were supposed to do but soon discovered that most of it was unsuitable for anything but grazing land for cows sheep and goats (those buggers will eat anything!) and in the two or three centuries since then, most of the parts that haven't become strip malls and condo developments have regrown as woodland. Fields like his are often used for hay - the better ones maybe a little corn - not much else, really.

I'll probably make a shadow box or collage of the better things I find on the farm at some point. This is still only the first old button I've ever found so it has kinda special status for the time being at least. I do throw a lot of junk away and sell other stuff to the scrap dealer so its not like I keep everything.

-pete