old button? need help with ID

[jangrok]

pulled what looks like an old button from my backyard. the piece to the right broke off, looks like gold plated? anybody have any ideas? how old? what its from? material its made out of?

 

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[TheCannonballGuy]

Your find appears to be a very ornate example of civilian coat/jacket button made during what collectors call "The Golden Age" of such buttons... the 1820s through 1850s. That type usually shows either a Floral motif or a Geometric motif. Note the "faceted" indentions on yours, which the gold plating causes to resemble sparkling golden gems.

You said the smaller piece in your photo "broke off" from the button's main body. Since the smaller piece includes the copper wire thread-loop AND a section of the button's back, your button is what collectors call a hollow 2-piece brass button. That form was invented about 1813 and first began to be widely manufactured in the mid-1830s, so I'd say your very-ornate Golden Age goldplated button dates from sometime between the 1835 and the 1850s.