Artillery Button ?

[Dicejr1967]

Can anyone identify this for me ? Is it a confederate artillery button ?

 

[creskol]

I don't think it is a button, but I'm not real sure what it is at the moment.

 

[Dicejr1967]

Thanks Creskol, it’s got me stumped. It came from a field that has given up union buttons and sword plate!

 

[creskol]

Thanks Creskol, it’s got me stumped. It came from a field that has given up union buttons and sword plate!

It does look very much like the Block A on the artillery buttons, and it could well be war related. It's a very interesting relic for sure, and hopefully the Cannonball Guy will chime in to help with an ID.

 

[Carolina Tom]

Not a button... I’ve seen these on here before and can’t remember what they are for. Someone smart will ID them shortly.

 

[Dicejr1967]

Thanks Tom

 

[TheCannonballGuy]

My longtime friend Creskol gave me a heads-up about your find, and asked for my opinion. You didn't tell us what metal it is made of. If it is lead (which it does not look like) it "could" be a soldier-made attempt at replacing a lost button. There's no match for it in any of the books (Albert, Tice, Binder, etc.) on civil war Military buttons. If it's brass or copper or a similar "hard" (non-carvable) metal, it isn't a button. I agree with Carolina Tom.

 

[gsxraddict]

That's a super interesting find.

Maybe it could be a hat pin?

 

[Dicejr1967]

It’s definitely not lead. Not sure, but I would say it is probably copper not brass

 

[creskol]

It’s definitely not lead. Not sure, but I would say it is probably copper not brass

Just out of curiosity, what are the actual dimensions on your relic?

 

[Dicejr1967]

I will post dimension tonight when I get home

 

[steelheadwill]

Not a button... I’ve seen these on here before and can’t remember what they are for. Someone smart will ID them shortly.

I dug one and can't remember what it's from
someone will nail it.

 

[Charlie P. (NY)]

I think that is the "A-hole" button that was only presented to general officer rank.

Nice find!

 

[SkaBa]

I think that is the "A-hole" button that was only presented to general officer rank.

Nice find!

Funny!

 

[Dicejr1967]

So it is the same size as a nickel. One pic is between nickel and quarter, second shows thickness compared to a nickel and the last pic shows it actually sitting on top of a nickel. Also it was not magnetic.

 

[Dicejr1967]

Mr Cannonball do the dimensions help any ?

 

[TheCannonballGuy]

Dicejr1967, I thank you for your effort in making and posting the photos showing the disc's size and thickness in comparison to a nickel. Very well done. They may help somebody arrive at the correct identification. All I can say is I'm sure it was not manufactured as a button. A hole for a button's loop doesn't go all the way through from back to front... and the hole is off-center. There is a slight possibility that somebody might (long ago) have tried to convert that disc-with-letter-A into a button, but it wasn't manufactured as a button.

 

[Dicejr1967]

The hole in the center is corrosion not a drilled or punched hole. I thought maybe it was a weak spot from where a shank in the back may have been

 

[gsxraddict]

I'm still interested in solving this.

 

[gsxraddict]

It might be interesting to measure the height of the A compared to a CSA buckle.