Republic of Texas Navy button cleaning. Possible candidate for restoration. ??

[bonepicker]

Dug a rare Republic of Texas button the other day, and it was in pretty rough shape.
I cleaned it up enough to make an id, and once i realized what i had i was afraid to clean it any more.
Not sure what to do with it at this point. I think i am beginning to see a couple greenish oxidation spots on it, and im afraid if i dont do anything it might get worse.
Just dont want to take any chances with this one.
I am considering sending it off for a professional restoration or preservation, but im unsure who to use.
I did see a post where a guy just got back a confederate staff officers button back from Leonard Short, and the finished results looked phenomenal.
Only bad thing is that he had to wait over a year.
Also wondering if a professional restoration would hurt the value or historical significance, or is the value already pretty hurt due to the buttons condition.
Being new to restorations, i just dont know the pros and cons to having a restoration done.
Any suggestions on who to contact would be appreciated.
Thanks.

 

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[sonofmitch]

Bone,
Did you ever get any response on a professional restorer for your Republic of Texas button? I don't see any comments.
Did you get it done? How long was the wait. What did it cost you? Who did it?
Mitch

 

[bonepicker]

Bone,
Did you ever get any response on a professional restorer for your Republic of Texas button? I don't see any comments.
Did you get it done? How long was the wait. What did it cost you? Who did it?
Mitch

HI Mitch. I contacted Leonard Short and he gave me a very nice and interesting response.
He said he could do it, but it would take a lot of work as the button has a lot of fine details.
I think his price was around $200.
He mentioned the pros and cons of having it done.
At the moment i am still on the fence about having the restoration done. So im keeping it in a rikers air-tite for now, and it seems to be stable.
I dont know much about other people that do restorations, but i have seen some of Leonards work, and i will say he does an excellent job.
Here is a link to see some of Leonards work.
Restoration Forum - Gallery Index

 

[Davers]

Just saw this.
Man u got a ton of reply's lol.
As i said before "I did not recall what the button looked like 'Condition Wise' .

I look pretty good , a-lot better than others I have seen.
I'd likely leave it as-is. As details can be seen.
&
If a good opportunity comes up to have it Restored ....Do it.
Still your Choice.

 

[bonepicker]

Just saw this. Man u got a ton of reply's lol. As i said before "I did not recall what the button looked like 'Condition Wise' . I look pretty good , a-lot better than others I have seen. I'd likely leave it as-is. As details can be seen. & If a good opportunity comes up to have it Restored ....Do it. Still your Choice.

Yeah, tons of replies. I think i will hold off for now. It seems to be pretty stable, and 200 dollars is a lot of money for me right now. Would loved to have gotten more feedback. Oh well. From what i have read, some people are totally against restorations, and others arent. Here are a few more pics with some different LED lighting.

 

[smokeythecat]

I don't think I'd do anything. I have seen some of those old buttons literally implode when you touch them. That metal is so thin after being in the ground, they can go poof very easily.

 

[bonepicker]

I don't think I'd do anything. I have seen some of those old buttons literally implode when you touch them. That metal is so thin after being in the ground, they can go poof very easily.

Thanks Smokey. I think i am done cleaning it. Leonard mentioned that most of the buttons made in the 1830s had a high copper content, which made them more prone to deteriorating from ground action.