Can anyone help ID this Button?

jasoningill · May 2, 2017

I found a button that I can't seem to I.D. the backmark says Scovill MF'GCO*Waterbury* with a ring of dots on the inside of the letters. I believe that backmark dates it between 1850-1865. The button is in good shape but the fancy letters on the front are baffling me. Not sure but I think it is a C and an E. It's about 7/8 of an inch wide.

DirtyMike&Tab · May 3, 2017

Try to get a good clear photo of the back. Just going by the condition... It does not look like most 1850-1865 ish buttons that I see.

TheCannonballGuy · May 3, 2017

Having some familiarity with "antique" lettering styles (from studying 1800s buckles and buttons), and noting that the ends of the letter are not the same, I think the letter is a G rather than a C. If it is a G, and if it is a Military button, the G is most probably the initial for Guards. Just for an example, as in "Eatonton Guards", a town Militia unit. Sorry, but this theorizing is all the help I can give you, since I'm not familiar with any EG button.

I agree with DirtyMike&Tab, we need a well-focused closeup photo of your button's backmark, because there are several Scovill backmarks which look extremely similar to each other but the slight differences make a difference of several decades in thier time-period of manufacture.

jasoningill · May 6, 2017

Thanks for the info here is some pictures of the backmark and a better picture of the front. It was found in massachusetts near an 1800s cellar hole.

Bigcypresshunter · May 6, 2017

I dont have a site for Scovill but often buttons were made by different companies and Waterbury Button Co has been in business since 1812. EG or GE entangled didnt come up on my search but you can search through 10 pages of "entangled letter" buttons if you have the time and patience. Maybe its there, maybe not but thats how it goes with research. I didnt look at them all. Good luck.
Waterbury Button - Uniform Buttons, Fashion Buttons, Metal Buttons, Brass Buttons. Collectibles - Civil War Buttons, Titanic, Blazer Button Sets. - Waterbury Button

TheCannonballGuy · May 6, 2017

Jason, thanks for providing the closeup photos of your button's backmark. Although the book "American Military Button Makers And Dealers; Their Backmarks & Dates" shows two dozen photos of Scovill M/fg Co backmark variations, the variant on your button is not shown. In Scovill backmarks, even slight differences in "punctuation" (stars, periods, circle-of-dots or dashes, etc) can make a difference in the button's time of manufacture. Based on comparing your Scovill backmark's format with ones that are shown, I think your button most probably was made sometime between 1860 and 1880.

jasoningill · May 6, 2017

Thank You for the information.

smokeythecat · May 6, 2017

I agree with cannonball guy as to the age.

Bigcypresshunter · May 6, 2017

from InkspotAntiques.com http://inkspotantiques.com/?main_page=page&id=1

Yours has the ring of dots, 2 stars... not the older name in groove.

TheCannonballGuy · May 6, 2017

BCH, no offense, but I think you'd prefer to know that the time-period info in that graphic is incorrect. Note that the Scovill backmark ring-of-dots-&-two-stars version the graphic says dates from 1860 to 1880 has a lower-case letter o in "Co." The McGuinn-&-Bazelon book on backmark-dating says the ring-of-dots-&-two-stars with lower-case o in Co dates from 1870 to 1920. Click twice on the photo below, to super-enlarge it.

Jasongill's GE button has an upper-case O in the Scovill backmark's "CO" abbreviation.

Also, its backmark has no period after MFG or CO or WATERBURY. Unfortunately, there isn't an exact match for it in any of the backmark book's dozens of Scovill backmark photos.

Caution-note for other viewers:
In Scovill (and some other) backmarks, when looking for a match to the backmark book's photos, please be careful not to confuse a ring-of-dots with a ring-of-short-vertical-dashes.

Bigcypresshunter · May 8, 2017

TheCannonballGuy said:
BCH, no offense, but I think you'd prefer to know that the time-period info in that graphic is incorrect. Note that the Scovill backmark ring-of-dots-&-two-stars version the graphic says dates from 1860 to 1880 has a lower-case letter o in "Co." The McGuinn-&-Bazelon book on backmark-dating says the ring-of-dots-&-two-stars with lower-case o in Co dates from 1870 to 1920. Click twice on the photo below, to super-enlarge it.

Jasongill's GE button has an upper-case O in the Scovill backmark's "CO" abbreviation.

Also, its backmark has no period after MFG or CO or WATERBURY. Unfortunately, there isn't an exact match for it in any of the backmark book's dozens of Scovill backmark photos.

Caution-note for other viewers:
In Scovill (and some other) backmarks, when looking for a match to the backmark book's photos, please be careful not to confuse a ring-of-dots with a ring-of-short-vertical-dashes.

OK good to know. Inkspots does have a ? after the date so maybe they were unsure. And Im sure there are other errors on the Inkspots website. They actually copied one of my lists from my research on Great Seal buttons and added it to their website and thats OK with me. My Great Seal button thread a work in progress that also may have errors and I havent had time to work on it.. Great Seal Buttons : Inkspotantiques.com : Inkspot Antiques and Collectibles, An eclectic assortment of antiques and collectibles.

I believe I actually have that same backmark book you sent me and I should have it here but my lifestyle has me moving all the time and I just arrived in town recently after 8 months in the Everglades swamp.

Thanks for bringing that to our attention. I posted it quickly after seeing the dateline was what you predicted (1860-1880) without even noticing the differences. You are correct as I have the SCOVILL M'FG CO. WATERBURY [ring of dots],on a Great Seal Button. Its all these little difference in backmarks makes for different dateline. However sometimes old backs from the factory are used on more modern buttons further complicating things extending datelines. http://www.treasurenet.com/forums/what/112828-great-seal-button-backmarks-help-25.html