Difficult Button ID

[mcogan / L.I. Mongo Mike]

I have no Idea what this button is.
Here are some facts:
14 mm.
Appears to be gold gilt.
Found on a Long Island property where I found a Colonial shoe buckle and a King George III Half Penny.

 

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[grasshopper]

I looked around for a while, and I'm stumped. I hope someone else can give you an ID...I'd really like to know what this is.

Nice find!

 

[HutSiteDigger]

I think the button dates to the mid-late 19th C. - not sure what the button is though... Hope someone can ID it for you soon!

 

[recondigger]

That is a hard one I can't figure it out. I agree mid to late 1800's

Dig until your arm falls off

 

[nova treasure]

i would think a fraternity button

 

[nhbenz]

Amateur guess: maybe a railroad uniform button? I was trying to figure out if there were a larger RR tucked behind what I see as a pair of A's. Also, is the circle on the right perhaps a train wheel? You did a good job of cleaning the front, and perhaps the back could use the same treatment, as it could help to know if it was made in the US or Europe... Especially where your location has had a lot of international travel through it.

 

[TheCannonballGuy]

About time-dating the button:
It has "lobate" letters, meaning the serifs on the letters' ends are rounded lobes (like an ear-lobe). That style of lettering became popular on buttons in the 1870s and fell out of favor in the very-early 1900s. So, I do not think your button dates from any earlier than the 1870s.

Also, the unusual "conjunction" of the letters A and R on your button is very similar (though not exact) to what is seen on Union army veterans' GAR buttons... which date from the 1870s into the early 1900s. See the photo below. Let me be clear, I'm not saying your button is GAR-related, I'm just saying that the lettering style on it may have importance in time-dating it.

On your button, there is "something," presumably another letter, to the left of the first group of letters -- but you don't show it in your drawing. The left side of your button needs more cleaning, so we can figure out what that "something" is.

 

[mcogan / L.I. Mongo Mike]

I want to thank all who have responded.
I will try to further clean the button today and post the results.
There is so much helpful information on this site.
THANK YOU

 

[mcogan / L.I. Mongo Mike]

I cleaned the front and back as much as I dared.
The Back Mark appears to be Scovill Mfg. Co.

 

[nhbenz]

Ann Arbor RailRoad Co.? -same guess as this listing had on a different item Vintage A.A. Railroad Co Herald NEWSBOY BADGE Ann Ar (03/18/2011)...

 

[grasshopper]

I agree with nhbenz...probably Ann Arbor.

 

[TheCannonballGuy]

Mcogan / L.I. Mongo Mike sent me a PM asking for my opinion. First, let me thank him for doing additional cleaning on the button, and for posting good closeup photos of the result of the cleaning.

My interpreation:
The grouping of letters are actually an A superimposed on a letter R. The letter A's crossbar is located near its base. The crossbar above that one is part of the letter R. What you see on the left of the A is the vertical part of the R.

Also, I see a smaller lower-case (non-capital) letter O on the right side of the letter-group on the button's right. I believe the small letter O goes with the huge crescent-shaped letter C -- meaning, the abbreviation Co for Company.

So, in summary, I believe Nhbenz's interpretation of the button's letter-groups is correct... AA RR Co.

Based on combining the "lobate serifs" lettering-style (or "font") and the CUFF-SIZED button's Scovill backmark, I believe it is from sometime between the 1870s and the very-early 1900s.

 

[mcogan / L.I. Mongo Mike]

I have finally ID'd this button as being from the Atlantic Avenue Railroad Company which operated in Brooklyn NY from 1872.
From the following web site:
Uniform ID Info.