2022 Off to an Amazing Start: Found a Previously Unknown Variety of George Washington Inaugural Button!!!

paleomaxx

Hero Member
Aug 14, 2016
824
6,764
Upstate, NY
🥇 Banner finds
6
Detector(s) used
Deus XP
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
First day of the year, and the very last target of the day! I tried out two new spots were I pulled up only a few bits and pieces so I went back to a site I found last Summer. It was buried in brambles and brush at the time and it had obviously been detected before so I left it for the Spring. This past weekend was unseasonably warm but we had already had snow so I knew all of the brush would be flattened and sure enough the conditions were perfect. Not too much in the ground, but the previous detectorist/s had left a few pieces here and there. After some decent finds I had reached the end of the day and I was about to pack up when I got a surface shotgun head stamp tone. I kicked over the leaves and to my surprise it was a pewter disc. I knew it was an 18th century button, but I would never have guessed in a million years that the front would have this:

GWI Button Field Photo.jpg


Unmistakably a heraldic eagle; absolutely insane!!!:hello2:

I had never seen or even read about a pewter variety of George Washington inaugural buttons so I knew it had to be at least super rare. I spent the last few days doing research and looking at the cleaned up button for any additional clues.

DSC09939.JPG

DSC09940.JPG


There's a little bit of lost pewter, but I put a stop to the crumbling so it should be stable now. It's actually in extremely good condition compared to most of my 18th century pewter buttons which I couldn't be more thankful for. The missing parts of the eagle don't appear to be due to ground action, but instead weak imprinting. I would guess that instead of being etched by hand, the already cast button was struck with a die. The strike being a little unequal in force resulted in a strong bottom left and a weak upper right.

It's very similar to the heraldic eagle style of GWI buttons that I've previously dug, but there doesn't appear to be any work done along the edges and it lacks the six pointed star:

Side by Side.jpg



The arrows and olive branch are also on opposite sides. The buttons are similar in size though and it's almost like a local button maker wanted to get in on the sales of the inaugural buttons so they created a die based off memory. My biggest question is why didn't more button makers do this since the GWI buttons were quite expensive so being able to quickly produce similar ones would have netted them quite a tidy profit. Perhaps making the die itself was such a rare skill that most couldn't find someone to do it and maybe this particular die broke quickly discouraging further production.

At any rate this has to be an extraordinarily rare piece for none to have previously turned up and I hope it can make it into the books as a newly discovered GWI button variety!

It almost seems silly to mention, but the rest of the hunt was pretty good too! :laughing7: A couple of nice older buttons including one that seems to have had a ship stamped into it:

DSC09933.JPG
DSC09935.JPG


Really hard to get a good photo of it since the relief is low, but it looks close to the cuff button I found a few years back. I also found some nice coins including my first political hard times token:

Hard Times Token.jpg


Not in the best shape, but I like that it mentions Martin Van Buren since I have a good number of relics from William Henry Harrison and it's a nice addition to that little collection. Here's a non-dug one so you can see the details:

Metallic Currency.png


The only colonial copper of the day (and first for 2022!) ended up being in much better shape:

1787 CT Copper.jpg


Not a bad 1787 Connecticut copper and it may be a Miller 26-kk.1 which if so make it rare with less than 40 know! But the best condition coin of the day was surprisingly an 1863 IHP. These cupro-nickel ones are usually toasted for me, but this one is in fantastic shape:

1863 IHP.jpg


Only a few relics, but I suspect there are more and I'll absolutely be back many more times to see if I can't find the rest of the GWI buttons!

DSC09950.JPG


The shoe buckle chape is very intriguing since that style is extremely old for this area. I found it right in the cellar hole too. I'm hoping it means there are some early to mid 18th century pieces/coins hiding here, but we'll have to see. At any rate, I'm pumped for the rest of 2022 and I can't wait to see what else I can turn up here!

GWI Button Field Photo 2.jpg
 

Upvote 83
OP
OP
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paleomaxx

Hero Member
Aug 14, 2016
824
6,764
Upstate, NY
🥇 Banner finds
6
Detector(s) used
Deus XP
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting

pepperj

Gold Member
Feb 3, 2009
37,027
136,990
🥇 Banner finds
1
Detector(s) used
Deus, Deus 2, Minelab 3030, E-Trac,
Primary Interest:
Relic Hunting
Now that's a top shelf keeper all day.
How many dream of digging up just a regular GW Button, and to dig a rare one.:dontknow:
Congrats on the awesome recovery. :occasion14:
May the bar be reached once again come springtime.
 

Hunk-a-lead

Bronze Member
Dec 20, 2020
2,093
3,257
Kansas City
Detector(s) used
Nokta Legend, Predator Phoenix Shovel
Primary Interest:
Metal Detecting
First day of the year, and the very last target of the day! I tried out two new spots were I pulled up only a few bits and pieces so I went back to a site I found last Summer. It was buried in brambles and brush at the time and it had obviously been detected before so I left it for the Spring. This past weekend was unseasonably warm but we had already had snow so I knew all of the brush would be flattened and sure enough the conditions were perfect. Not too much in the ground, but the previous detectorist/s had left a few pieces here and there. After some decent finds I had reached the end of the day and I was about to pack up when I got a surface shotgun head stamp tone. I kicked over the leaves and to my surprise it was a pewter disc. I knew it was an 18th century button, but I would never have guessed in a million years that the front would have this:

View attachment 2000774

Unmistakably a heraldic eagle; absolutely insane!!!:hello2:

I had never seen or even read about a pewter variety of George Washington inaugural buttons so I knew it had to be at least super rare. I spent the last few days doing research and looking at the cleaned up button for any additional clues.

View attachment 2000775
View attachment 2000811

There's a little bit of lost pewter, but I put a stop to the crumbling so it should be stable now. It's actually in extremely good condition compared to most of my 18th century pewter buttons which I couldn't be more thankful for. The missing parts of the eagle don't appear to be due to ground action, but instead weak imprinting. I would guess that instead of being etched by hand, the already cast button was struck with a die. The strike being a little unequal in force resulted in a strong bottom left and a weak upper right.

It's very similar to the heraldic eagle style of GWI buttons that I've previously dug, but there doesn't appear to be any work done along the edges and it lacks the six pointed star:

View attachment 2000790


The arrows and olive branch are also on opposite sides. The buttons are similar in size though and it's almost like a local button maker wanted to get in on the sales of the inaugural buttons so they created a die based off memory. My biggest question is why didn't more button makers do this since the GWI buttons were quite expensive so being able to quickly produce similar ones would have netted them quite a tidy profit. Perhaps making the die itself was such a rare skill that most couldn't find someone to do it and maybe this particular die broke quickly discouraging further production.

At any rate this has to be an extraordinarily rare piece for none to have previously turned up and I hope it can make it into the books as a newly discovered GWI button variety!

It almost seems silly to mention, but the rest of the hunt was pretty good too! :laughing7: A couple of nice older buttons including one that seems to have had a ship stamped into it:

View attachment 2000796 View attachment 2000797

Really hard to get a good photo of it since the relief is low, but it looks close to the cuff button I found a few years back. I also found some nice coins including my first political hard times token:

View attachment 2000798

Not in the best shape, but I like that it mentions Martin Van Buren since I have a good number of relics from William Henry Harrison and it's a nice addition to that little collection. Here's a non-dug one so you can see the details:

View attachment 2000799

The only colonial copper of the day (and first for 2022!) ended up being in much better shape:

View attachment 2000800

Not a bad 1787 Connecticut copper and it may be a Miller 26-kk.1 which if so make it rare with less than 40 know! But the best condition coin of the day was surprisingly an 1863 IHP. These cupro-nickel ones are usually toasted for me, but this one is in fantastic shape:

View attachment 2000806

Only a few relics, but I suspect there are more and I'll absolutely be back many more times to see if I can't find the rest of the GWI buttons!

View attachment 2000809

The shoe buckle chape is very intriguing since that style is extremely old for this area. I found it right in the cellar hole too. I'm hoping it means there are some early to mid 18th century pieces/coins hiding here, but we'll have to see. At any rate, I'm pumped for the rest of 2022 and I can't wait to see what else I can turn up here!

View attachment 2000810
big time gratz! amazing recovery and save
 

CRUSADER

Gold Member
May 25, 2007
40,820
45,226
ENGLAND
🥇 Banner finds
27
🏆 Honorable Mentions:
1
Detector(s) used
XP Deus II v0.6 with 11" Coil
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
I think it is the number of likes now. I'm petty sure the like button just toggles too so if you click the like again it should come back.
Yes, but a better way is choosing the Medal, instead of the like (when hoovering it states 'Banner Find')
 

ArfieBoy

Silver Member
Aug 11, 2011
3,342
5,530
N.E. Oregon
Detector(s) used
Compass X-70, Compass X-80, Compass X-90, Compass Judge 2, Garrett AT Pro
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Awesome finds! Thanks for sharing them all with us.
 

mbcuce

Sr. Member
Jan 6, 2019
268
1,750
SC Lowcountry
🥇 Banner finds
1
Detector(s) used
Garrett ACE 400; Equinox 800
Primary Interest:
Metal Detecting
My biggest bucket list item. Congratulations! Banner for sure.
 

GWash

Jr. Member
Mar 5, 2012
23
45
Primary Interest:
Metal Detecting
Here is what the your WI-16 Inaugural pewter eagle button restored would look like.
Regards.
 

Attachments

  • Side by Side. Inaugural eagle pewter button visual enhancement.jpg
    Side by Side. Inaugural eagle pewter button visual enhancement.jpg
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THing4CSA

Full Member
Aug 20, 2006
146
77
Leesburg, VA
Detector(s) used
I use an XP-Deus and have a Whites DFX as a back-up/loaner detector.
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Congrats to you my Fellow TH'er Paleomaxx
Very few times in our years of TH'ing can we truly say we have found a one of a kind item! The GW button has long been on my very long bucket list. I am very happy to see a very unique one and am very happy for you! ;-)
 

EDavis

Jr. Member
Aug 30, 2021
64
220
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
First day of the year, and the very last target of the day! I tried out two new spots were I pulled up only a few bits and pieces so I went back to a site I found last Summer. It was buried in brambles and brush at the time and it had obviously been detected before so I left it for the Spring. This past weekend was unseasonably warm but we had already had snow so I knew all of the brush would be flattened and sure enough the conditions were perfect. Not too much in the ground, but the previous detectorist/s had left a few pieces here and there. After some decent finds I had reached the end of the day and I was about to pack up when I got a surface shotgun head stamp tone. I kicked over the leaves and to my surprise it was a pewter disc. I knew it was an 18th century button, but I would never have guessed in a million years that the front would have this:

View attachment 2000774

Unmistakably a heraldic eagle; absolutely insane!!!:hello2:

I had never seen or even read about a pewter variety of George Washington inaugural buttons so I knew it had to be at least super rare. I spent the last few days doing research and looking at the cleaned up button for any additional clues.

View attachment 2000775
View attachment 2000811

There's a little bit of lost pewter, but I put a stop to the crumbling so it should be stable now. It's actually in extremely good condition compared to most of my 18th century pewter buttons which I couldn't be more thankful for. The missing parts of the eagle don't appear to be due to ground action, but instead weak imprinting. I would guess that instead of being etched by hand, the already cast button was struck with a die. The strike being a little unequal in force resulted in a strong bottom left and a weak upper right.

It's very similar to the heraldic eagle style of GWI buttons that I've previously dug, but there doesn't appear to be any work done along the edges and it lacks the six pointed star:

View attachment 2000790


The arrows and olive branch are also on opposite sides. The buttons are similar in size though and it's almost like a local button maker wanted to get in on the sales of the inaugural buttons so they created a die based off memory. My biggest question is why didn't more button makers do this since the GWI buttons were quite expensive so being able to quickly produce similar ones would have netted them quite a tidy profit. Perhaps making the die itself was such a rare skill that most couldn't find someone to do it and maybe this particular die broke quickly discouraging further production.

At any rate this has to be an extraordinarily rare piece for none to have previously turned up and I hope it can make it into the books as a newly discovered GWI button variety!

It almost seems silly to mention, but the rest of the hunt was pretty good too! :laughing7: A couple of nice older buttons including one that seems to have had a ship stamped into it:

View attachment 2000796 View attachment 2000797

Really hard to get a good photo of it since the relief is low, but it looks close to the cuff button I found a few years back. I also found some nice coins including my first political hard times token:

View attachment 2000798

Not in the best shape, but I like that it mentions Martin Van Buren since I have a good number of relics from William Henry Harrison and it's a nice addition to that little collection. Here's a non-dug one so you can see the details:

View attachment 2000799

The only colonial copper of the day (and first for 2022!) ended up being in much better shape:

View attachment 2000800

Not a bad 1787 Connecticut copper and it may be a Miller 26-kk.1 which if so make it rare with less than 40 know! But the best condition coin of the day was surprisingly an 1863 IHP. These cupro-nickel ones are usually toasted for me, but this one is in fantastic shape:

View attachment 2000806

Only a few relics, but I suspect there are more and I'll absolutely be back many more times to see if I can't find the rest of the GWI buttons!

View attachment 2000809

The shoe buckle chape is very intriguing since that style is extremely old for this area. I found it right in the cellar hole too. I'm hoping it means there are some early to mid 18th century pieces/coins hiding here, but we'll have to see. At any rate, I'm pumped for the rest of 2022 and I can't wait to see what else I can turn up here!

View attachment 2000810
I’m jealous 🥲”That’s awesome!”
 

ecmo

Hero Member
Feb 28, 2016
937
1,348
Missouri
Detector(s) used
macro racer 2, whites mx5, whites mx sport, trx pinpointer
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Congrats on finding a potentially super rare GW button. I liked the ship one and that beautiful Indian.
 

babyrazor

Tenderfoot
Jul 24, 2014
7
16
Bucks County PA
Detector(s) used
Garrett Deep Seeker
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
First day of the year, and the very last target of the day! I tried out two new spots were I pulled up only a few bits and pieces so I went back to a site I found last Summer. It was buried in brambles and brush at the time and it had obviously been detected before so I left it for the Spring. This past weekend was unseasonably warm but we had already had snow so I knew all of the brush would be flattened and sure enough the conditions were perfect. Not too much in the ground, but the previous detectorist/s had left a few pieces here and there. After some decent finds I had reached the end of the day and I was about to pack up when I got a surface shotgun head stamp tone. I kicked over the leaves and to my surprise it was a pewter disc. I knew it was an 18th century button, but I would never have guessed in a million years that the front would have this:

View attachment 2000774

Unmistakably a heraldic eagle; absolutely insane!!!:hello2:

I had never seen or even read about a pewter variety of George Washington inaugural buttons so I knew it had to be at least super rare. I spent the last few days doing research and looking at the cleaned up button for any additional clues.

View attachment 2000775
View attachment 2000811

There's a little bit of lost pewter, but I put a stop to the crumbling so it should be stable now. It's actually in extremely good condition compared to most of my 18th century pewter buttons which I couldn't be more thankful for. The missing parts of the eagle don't appear to be due to ground action, but instead weak imprinting. I would guess that instead of being etched by hand, the already cast button was struck with a die. The strike being a little unequal in force resulted in a strong bottom left and a weak upper right.

It's very similar to the heraldic eagle style of GWI buttons that I've previously dug, but there doesn't appear to be any work done along the edges and it lacks the six pointed star:

View attachment 2000790


The arrows and olive branch are also on opposite sides. The buttons are similar in size though and it's almost like a local button maker wanted to get in on the sales of the inaugural buttons so they created a die based off memory. My biggest question is why didn't more button makers do this since the GWI buttons were quite expensive so being able to quickly produce similar ones would have netted them quite a tidy profit. Perhaps making the die itself was such a rare skill that most couldn't find someone to do it and maybe this particular die broke quickly discouraging further production.

At any rate this has to be an extraordinarily rare piece for none to have previously turned up and I hope it can make it into the books as a newly discovered GWI button variety!

It almost seems silly to mention, but the rest of the hunt was pretty good too! :laughing7: A couple of nice older buttons including one that seems to have had a ship stamped into it:

View attachment 2000796 View attachment 2000797

Really hard to get a good photo of it since the relief is low, but it looks close to the cuff button I found a few years back. I also found some nice coins including my first political hard times token:

View attachment 2000798

Not in the best shape, but I like that it mentions Martin Van Buren since I have a good number of relics from William Henry Harrison and it's a nice addition to that little collection. Here's a non-dug one so you can see the details:

View attachment 2000799

The only colonial copper of the day (and first for 2022!) ended up being in much better shape:

View attachment 2000800

Not a bad 1787 Connecticut copper and it may be a Miller 26-kk.1 which if so make it rare with less than 40 know! But the best condition coin of the day was surprisingly an 1863 IHP. These cupro-nickel ones are usually toasted for me, but this one is in fantastic shape:

View attachment 2000806

Only a few relics, but I suspect there are more and I'll absolutely be back many more times to see if I can't find the rest of the GWI buttons!

View attachment 2000809

The shoe buckle chape is very intriguing since that style is extremely old for this area. I found it right in the cellar hole too. I'm hoping it means there are some early to mid 18th century pieces/coins hiding here, but we'll have to see. At any rate, I'm pumped for the rest of 2022 and I can't wait to see what else I can turn up here!

View attachment 2000810
Years ago some friends moved to a farm. I went out to metal detect the grounds. On the path way to the front door I
got a signal and unearthed a Souvenir Token of the Convening of the 1st Continental Congress. I forget the date but it was in the 1700's so I gave it to my friends who lived there. The weekend came and there was an article about that very coin which carried a value of $1.500. So I called them with the good news. They phoned back later telling me their little girls were playing with it and lost it somewhere. Too bad, in the 1970's that was a good chunk of cash.
 

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