$700.00 BUTTON - CIVIL WAR - IN PA? HOW SHOULD I CLEAN IT? THANK YOU!

Gavinsdiscoveries

Jr. Member
Dec 8, 2017
68
152
SE Pennsylvania
Detector(s) used
Garrett AT-Pro
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Happy Holy Crap Wednesday Everyone!

$700.00 Button!

Hello everyone! My name is Gavin and I'm 15. I live in Southeastern Pennsylvania and have recently made an astonishing discovery! As of today, February 26th, 2020, my best metal detecting trip has was today! I was out in an area where I metal detect all the time. Sadly I cannot give you the exact location but I was in a densely wooded Woods. I collect antique shotgun shells and have been trying to complete collections of certain companies, that being said as we all know the woods are typically filled with shotgun shells! I've been metal detecting this land since October of 2018 and I found my best find in these Woods. After having a migraine field day at school I was ecstatic to find this discovery. I was in the woods it around
4:20 - 4:45 ish. While I was trying to walk to the spot I was planning on going to, I got a nice 50s signal. I realized that 90% of the time this is a shotgun shell! I decided to dig it and out popped a UMC Nitro Club with an eight-point star around it. The specific shotgun shell dates from around 1902 to 1911. I saw the age and decided to swing my detector for a few more feet being very careful and seeing if it's worth metal detecting this place. Suddenly, about five feet away from that shotgun shell, I got a really exuberating signal! I'm using a Garrett AT Pro and it rang in at about 69 - 85 which were those of you who don't know this type of detector, that is a really good signal! Typically that's a coin, brass button, or something better! I dug down about 4 in and out pops A gently rounded brass rectangle. I recognize that most likely this is a suspender clip or a buckle and to my surprise, it was a beautiful buckle. You can see in the photos down below I'm not sure exactly what it would have been used for but I think it might be a knee strap Buckle? Maybe a hat buckle? If anybody knows please let me know.

That's not even the best friend of the day though! I've been collecting Civil War relics for around 5 to 6 years and have some very fascinating artifacts. About 2 feet away from that buckle I found an astonishing fine but I'm going to save it for last. No more than one foot away from that hole, I discovered something I've been looking for for many years!

I found my very first Civil War-era infantry button!

Out in the middle of nowhere, this beauty lie in the woods. There has been no documented civil war action in the aria! I was privileged enough to discover this astonishing Discovery today and that's not all! The object I dug before this may be the best object I've ever dug!

I dug a beautiful gold plated button With an Insignia on it. I did not realize this at the time but looking at it I knew it was old! There has been a lot of Revolutionary War action in this area so originally I was thinking it's possible it was from the Revolutionary War! Then my mind skipped over to the War of 1812. I imagine the crazy fighting that this button may have been through and was astonished to be holding it in my hand! I arrived home safely at around 6:10 p.m. I looked in my Civil War guidebooks and sure enough, I have identified it!

What I found is an 1838 to 1863 topographical Engineer button!

These you could say were elite soldiers that graduated from the military academy at West Point. These gentlemen are cartographers, mapmakers for the military. A well defined gentleman who decided to survey this land must have lost one of his exquisite topographical engineer buttons! The uniforms that were worn by these men are the most beautiful uniform I've ever seen! The embroidering that was hand done back then and the time that was put into these uniforms is ungodly. I can't imagine how distraught the man was when he realized he lost his button.

I have a few questions for you guys.

Do you think the Civil War infantry button is related to the tropographical engineer?
Do you think the Civil War infantry button is Confederate or Union? It has brown colored cloth still on it ( Though it could have faded throughout time )

the most important question of all is how can I safely clean these artifacts without damaging them. Unfortunately, the high acidity soils of the general area create horrific messes of artifacts. I can see that the button still has gold inlay in it and I would like to try my hardest to save that. It appears that it has a deep green patina but yet it's not a patina is what is underneath the patina, I guess you could say it is heavily corroded and what can I do to save this button!

Soap and water,
wooden toothpick
lemon juice and vinegar
baking soda
Toothbrush

Please let me know your thoughts and thank you so much for your time! I hope you all had as wonderful is a Wednesday I had! God bless!


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Upvote 27

smokeythecat

Gold Member
Nov 22, 2012
20,684
40,651
Maryland
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XP Deus II
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Nice saves. The topographical engineers is a northern button. To clean it, I would lightly rinse in water to get loose dirt off of it. I would use toothpicks only and use a magnifier at the time you do it. I bought a set of the "Andre's Pencils" which are brass and steel wool tipped "pencils" and they work very well on old copper and buttons.
 

njrelicgairl

Sr. Member
Jul 1, 2013
488
911
warren county NJ
Detector(s) used
Whites coin master and Vanquish 540
Primary Interest:
Metal Detecting
Congrats on finding the button,just be carefull cleaning it,and take your time.
 

ihatedirtbikes

Jr. Member
Feb 22, 2012
89
98
virginia
Detector(s) used
Garrett AT Pro, Garrett Pro-Pointer, Nautilus DMCII-Ba
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I would personally leave that how it is since you have it identified and maybe down the road once you have a little more experience cleaning give it a try. Good luck and just remember once you start to clean you can’t go back to the condition before.
 

CASPER-2

Gold Member
Jan 3, 2012
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NEW ENGLAND
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if it is rare and valuable - find an expert to clean it - you could turn a 700$ button into a 70C button very easily
 

xcopperstax

Silver Member
Sep 3, 2018
2,508
4,870
Massachusetts
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Garrett AT Max
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Great post with a great descriptive story.... I felt like I was there. Will need a gps coordinate to really get the feel. Haha! I can't give great button cleaning advice other than slowly and carefully. You'll see info about naval jelly and aluminum jelly... I almost ruined my best button with that stuff. A 700.00 button? That's probably more valuable than all my finds put together!!! Nice finds!
 

Baribal

Jr. Member
Jan 28, 2020
86
327
Germany
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Wouldn't even use water!
Just take a regular toothbrush and brush it a little. Out of my experience you can do it as long as dust is raising. Use a toothpick for the rest
 

Baribal

Jr. Member
Jan 28, 2020
86
327
Germany
Primary Interest:
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Wouldn't even use water!
Just take a regular toothbrush and brush it a little. Out of my experience you can do it as long as dust is raising. Use a toothpick for the rest
 

Steve in PA

Gold Member
Jul 5, 2010
9,575
14,086
Pittsburgh, PA
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Use a dry tootbrush and toothpick first. Do not use vingar or lemon juice. You may use hydrogen peroxide applied with a q-tip, but I would not soak it in any type of liquid at this point. Get it as good as you can using dry methods and then post more pictures.
 

A2coins

Gold Member
Dec 20, 2015
33,807
42,606
Ann Arbor
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Dang that's a cool find yep be very careful. That's awesome
 

BLK HOLE

Silver Member
Aug 3, 2017
4,725
6,500
Northern Virginia
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AT MAX/AT PRO/GPX-4500, Equinox 800, Garrett Pro Pointer,NEL Attack Coil, Lesche diggers, and the custom made in the USA Freeloader Pack Mule Pouch!
Primary Interest:
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Congratulations on an outstanding save!!! Great story also, you can really feel your passion for the hobby in your writing:icon_thumleft: I'm sorry I can't give you any advice on how to clean your button as I am still looking for my first one!!!:BangHead:
 

Tnmountains

Super Moderator
Staff member
Jan 27, 2009
18,701
11,665
South East Tennessee on Ga, Ala line
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Tesoro Conquistador freq shift
Fisher F75
Garrett AT-Pro
Garet carrot
Neodymium magnets
5' Probe
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Tooth pick and a magnifying glass and take hours in your work. Gently is key. I would not use any water till the end then maybe just a lightly damp q-tip but if its fragile don't even do that.
Nice find.
 

Oct 5, 2014
31,886
35,424
Massachusetts
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IMHO: If its a rare find, let a professional do the job. :icon_thumleft:
 

RustyRelics

Gold Member
Apr 5, 2019
5,906
32,358
Central PA
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Equinox 600/Ancient Whites MXT
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Excellent find! Some buttons I just wouldn't clean. The one in my avatar is one of the rarest out there, and I decided not to clean it at all. It all depends on personal tastes however. Good luck!
 

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