Button made of bone

[randyinarkansas]

My buddy found a button made of bone and neither of us have ever seen or heard of this, the button is very ordinary looking, round with five holes. He found it in the same hole as a metal target while searching an old house place. Does anyone know if this type of button was common and if it can be dated. The house that stood on this site did so for at least 120 years. Any info about this particular type of button will be helpful, i doubt that it is valuable but knowing a little about the history is the real treasure. I also got the chance to do a little md'ing of my own, but all i found was a 1920 wheat penny at an old church, still i had a great time.

[popeye2002]

Hey, Randy!

Hello for L.A. (lower arkansas) hot springs, to be exact. Ha.

Is it possible button is made from mussel shell? Many Arkansans dived for mussels and sold them to button factories. Seems like Newport or Jonesboro once had such a factory. This was in the days before plastic.

Bob

[randyinarkansas]

No it's definitely made from bone, I've since found some on line and it seems that they were popular on long underwear during the 1800's. Thanks for the help though.

Good Huntin'
Randy

[Sofaman36]

Bone buttons are very common. My father has recovered a dozen in a day at one place we hunt. HH.