Question about musket balls and buttons I found

A

accteam

Guest
Hello,

I have a question for anyone who is willing to give some ideas. My son and I were metal detecting in this park-like area and for a good part of the day, we found nothing but light trash and some pocket change.

I finally got a hit, which was very solid. At about 4 or 6 inches, up came my first musket ball. Shocked does not fully explain how I truly felt. I called my son over and he also could not believe what I had just found. We quickly started to grid off this area and it turned out to be a great spot. We would return back a few times to find about 24 musket balls, 8 buttons, 1830 5 cent piece, 1852 3 cent piece and a 1835 some kind of military naval coin.

The Question:

As I explained, we found all of this stuff in a small area. About the size of half a football field. But this area is much...much bigger. Why would all this only show up in that area and not mixed around in the whole field? Is there a way to tell if the musket balls have been fired or not? I'm trying to figure out if they were all dropped or maybe from being shot at. And last question, looking at the type of buttons we found, which side did they belong to?

buttons21em.jpg

buttons6pr.jpg

musket2nx.jpg

18838yc.jpg

md8mw.jpg




Thanks in advance for any help, tips, advice. My son and I are looking forward to hearing about this.

Jon
 

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PBK

Gold Member
May 25, 2005
6,380
269
Buttons:

Top left: U.S. Army general service pattern (assuming there's no initial on the shield), c. 1854-1902.

Top right: mid 19th century civilian dress button, likely a "Golden Age" gilt.

Second row, left: also a dress button of the same period.

Second row, center: insufficient detail for ID.

Second row, right: U.S. Navy pattern, c. 1830-52.

Third row, left: U.S. Navy pattern, c. 1852-1941.

Third row, center: Artillery, c. 1808-21.

Third row, right: U.S. Army "Great Seal" general service pattern, c. 1902-present.

Bottom button: Can't see many details clearly, but it looks as if there might be a lion rampant, or some sort of upright figure on a lined field, with a torse/bandeau beneath, and three Old English letters at the bottom. If so, it's evidently a mid to late 19th century commercial livery button.
 

OP
OP
A

accteam

Guest
Hey,

Thanks for truly taking the time to explain each button. Its nice to know what each piece means. If you ever find out what the other buttons means please let me know. ALso do you have any idea on what the metal items are?


Jon
 

PBK

Gold Member
May 25, 2005
6,380
269
Glad to have you and your son with us, Jon!

The "Dr. Claris" tag is probably related to the line of veterinary medicines manufactured by Dr. Claris of Buffalo, New York in the early 1900's. Some veterinary supply companies provided tags to be issued as animals were vaccinated. I'm not sure if that's what this item is, but it's a possibility.
 

OP
OP
A

accteam

Guest
Hello,

Looking at the buttons I found and aside from the one which is from the early 1900...which group did the buttons come from, Confederates or Union?

Last question, my son wants to know if the coins we found came from the same people who left the musketballs or where the coins there before??? Because the dates on the coins are 1830, 1803, and 1835, but the civil war started 1861 to I beleive 65.


Thanks again,
Jon
 

PBK

Gold Member
May 25, 2005
6,380
269
All of the military buttons are U.S., but of course only those with post-1850 dates would have been officially issued during the war. Sometimes older buttons, including civilian ones such as the "flower" buttons you found, were used as replacements, however.

It's hard to be sure about the time period of the round lead shot, which was used in the Civil War, both in muskets and in artillery projectiles, although the familiar "Minie ball" types were preferred for small arms. At the beginning of the war, round shot was widely used, as many older weapons and hunting muskets were rushed into use, until arsenals could supply new arms.

If the coins show quite a lot of wear, they might well have been in circulation during the war, especially the 1852 3¢ piece. Also, as widespread hoarding led to shortages of current coinage, some people were forced to dig into their own stashes of older coins to come up with "hard money" now and then. The problem, though, is that many Civil War sites were continuously occupied long before the war, and of course a few older coins would have been lost during the pre-war era at those same spots.

Congrats to the two of you on some great coins and relics, and I'll be looking forward to your future posts and finds.

PBK
 

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