24 Civil War Buttons

[lucky d]

awesome finds ! wtg !...hh

[testing123]

Hey Herbie,

Congrats on these awesome finds! Can't wait to see what you pull up next!

[Marchas45]

Awesome! Awesome! Awesome! Must Be A Banner

[NHBandit]

Herbie you continue to amaze me with the stuff you're finding in my old home town. You have my vote for the banner as well.

[artyfacts]

4' X 2' and about 36" deep... That adds up to a big button hole... The buttons are sweet... Arty

[Neil in West Jersey]

Looks like the uniform should have 27 (three rows of nine). Go back and find that belt plate!

[Rickiowa2009]

WTG

[steelheadwill]

Looks like the uniform should have 27 (three rows of nine). Go back and find that belt plate!

Now I see that one under his belt, AND 3 on each cuff
I'll have to redig that hole for the 4th time if there's still 10 missing,
(plus the Belt Plate & Cap Pin)
I just saw NHBobs post of a beautiful NH Cap pin dug last year,
NICE FIND

[steelheadwill]

4' X 2' and about 36" deep... That adds up to a big button hole... The buttons are sweet... Arty

HaHaa ! It sure was !
After 3 excavations the hole resembled a grave.
Like I described, a pit full of mucky water, scan bottom and sides, then gently remove some slop and hope you got another one,
The owner of a nearby business came out and
chatted then invited me in for coffee, I was happy to have the chance to talk about the hobby and the history we're trying to save.
Helps to dispel some of the false perceptions
a lot of people have about MDers

[bookfisher]

Great job finding and cleaning!

[ANTIQUARIAN]

This sure looks like a BANNER picture to me buddy!

Dave

[steelheadwill]

This sure looks like a BANNER picture to me buddy!

Dave

My thanks go out to all who replied
All of your feedback is appreciated
Special Shout to Timekiller, whose tips allowed me to get buttons cleaned up in a timely manner.
With his idea of expansion/contraction in mind, I placed the buttons in boiling water,
then removed them and immediately dropped them into ice water and let them dry.
The encrustation then literally fell off at a touch
no more spending 3 hours on one button.
I can't see how this would cause additional damage to metallic objects with a heavy crusting like these had, I don't believe any gilding remains attached to salt crusted buttons.
I would recommending trying this method on copper alloy buttons and coins THAT HAVE HEAVY CRUSTING, (if you think theres gilt left, it will come off with the crust) I am going to try it out on a sand crusted silver coin I have later.
I believe this method would destroy old pewter/white metal.
The biggest plus is no risk of pitting or detail loss that can occur with acid cleaning, ALL the base metal that is under the crust will remain.
I will make a 'Cleaning & Preservation' post on this method after I experiment with that silver.
Good Day An Best Digs To All

[Iron Patch]

This sure looks like a BANNER picture to me buddy!

Dave

My thanks go out to all who replied
All of your feedback is appreciated
Special Shout to Timekiller, whose tips allowed me to get buttons cleaned up in a timely manner.
With his idea of expansion/contraction in mind, I placed the buttons in boiling water,
then removed them and immediately dropped them into ice water and let them dry.
The encrustation then literally fell off at a touch
no more spending 3 hours on one button.
I can't see how this would cause additional damage to metallic objects with a heavy crusting like these had, I don't believe any gilding remains attached to salt crusted buttons.
I would recommending trying this method on copper alloy buttons and coins THAT HAVE HEAVY CRUSTING, (if you think theres gilt left, it will come off with the crust) I am going to try it out on a sand crusted silver coin I have later.
I believe this method would destroy old pewter/white metal.
The biggest plus is no risk of pitting or detail loss that can occur with acid cleaning, ALL the base metal that is under the crust will remain.
I will make a 'Cleaning & Preservation' post on this method after I experiment with that silver.
Good Day An Best Digs To All

That was a very good idea. I thought it was more of a black grime than a hard crust, but now that it's so easy you have to go find more! The depth you are digging them and the crust is what is keeping them nice.

Finding the plate would be something else.

[steelheadwill]

This sure looks like a BANNER picture to me buddy!

Dave

My thanks go out to all who replied
All of your feedback is appreciated
Special Shout to Timekiller, whose tips allowed me to get buttons cleaned up in a timely manner.
With his idea of expansion/contraction in mind, I placed the buttons in boiling water,
then removed them and immediately dropped them into ice water and let them dry.
The encrustation then literally fell off at a touch
no more spending 3 hours on one button.
I can't see how this would cause additional damage to metallic objects with a heavy crusting like these had, I don't believe any gilding remains attached to salt crusted buttons.
I would recommending trying this method on copper alloy buttons and coins THAT HAVE HEAVY CRUSTING, (if you think theres gilt left, it will come off with the crust) I am going to try it out on a sand crusted silver coin I have later.
I believe this method would destroy old pewter/white metal.
The biggest plus is no risk of pitting or detail loss that can occur with acid cleaning, ALL the base metal that is under the crust will remain.
I will make a 'Cleaning & Preservation' post on this method after I experiment with that silver.
Good Day An Best Digs To All

That was a very good idea. I thought it was more of a black grime than a hard crust, but now that it's so easy you have to go find more! The depth you are digging them and the crust is what is keeping them nice.

Finding the plate would be something else.

Thanks IP !
Am returning to the site today, Plan on removing top layers around the filled hole to see what else lurks in the depths

[Hill Billy]

This sure looks like a BANNER picture to me buddy!

Dave

My thanks go out to all who replied
All of your feedback is appreciated
Special Shout to Timekiller, whose tips allowed me to get buttons cleaned up in a timely manner.
With his idea of expansion/contraction in mind, I placed the buttons in boiling water,
then removed them and immediately dropped them into ice water and let them dry.
The encrustation then literally fell off at a touch
no more spending 3 hours on one button.
I can't see how this would cause additional damage to metallic objects with a heavy crusting like these had, I don't believe any gilding remains attached to salt crusted buttons.
I would recommending trying this method on copper alloy buttons and coins THAT HAVE HEAVY CRUSTING, (if you think theres gilt left, it will come off with the crust) I am going to try it out on a sand crusted silver coin I have later.
I believe this method would destroy old pewter/white metal.
The biggest plus is no risk of pitting or detail loss that can occur with acid cleaning, ALL the base metal that is under the crust will remain.
I will make a 'Cleaning & Preservation' post on this method after I experiment with that silver.
Good Day An Best Digs To All

That was a very good idea. I thought it was more of a black grime than a hard crust, but now that it's so easy you have to go find more! The depth you are digging them and the crust is what is keeping them nice.

Finding the plate would be something else.

Thanks IP !
Am returning to the site today, Plan on removing top layers around the filled hole to see what else lurks in the depths

Bring your camera with and take pics, that's the only reason why this post isn't up on the banner in my opinion. Congrats to you on the 23 buttons the other day and good luck finding the plate today.