Help Date!!

[C-Hauk]

Hello all. New here to this community. A little background- we live in SouthEastern Pennsylvania near an old tourist railroad that ran through the late 1800’s. We’ve found a lot of old metal pieces in the woods on our property (I’ll post a separate thread for this eventually) and found this yesterday with a metal detector. Can anyone help date this button? Thanks!!

 

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[invent4hir]

Welcome aboard! Really nice button. Please post the diameter and what it says on the back side.

 

[C-Hauk]

It’s just under 1 inch diameter, and I says “Horstmann Philadelphia” on the back.

 

[creskol]

Some time in the 1940's

 

[fyrffytr1]

Unless Creskol, whose opinion I highly regard, knows something I don't I think your "Horstmann/Philadelphia" backmarked button could date back to 1893. That is according to the book "Dating Buttons" by Warren K. Tice. And, Albert's button book dates that backmark from 1893-1935.

 

[Mackaydon]

https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/railroad-conductor-button-civil-war-475947139.
Welcome to treasurenet !!
Don.......

 

[creskol]

https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/railroad-conductor-button-civil-war-475947139.
Welcome to treasurenet !!
Don.......

That button backtrack isn't the same .. It is older than c-hauk's is.

 

[creskol]

Unless Creskol, whose opinion I highly regard, knows something I don't I think your "Horstmann/Philadelphia" backmarked button could date back to 1893. That is according to the book "Dating Buttons" by Warren K. Tice. And, Albert's button book dates that backmark from 1893-1935.

I could be wrong, but hauk's button looks like it has a totally flat back.

 

[C-Hauk]

It does have a flat back

 

[invent4hir]

Here is some info on the company https://www.workshopoftheworld.com/center_city/horstmann.html

 

[Mudflap]

Old, cooler of course, newer maybe, still a neat find! Nice going.

 

[fyrffytr1]

I somehow overlooked the Horstmann backmark in Tice's book that looks like yours. It dates the button from 1893-1947

 

[TheCannonballGuy]

The "Horstmann Bros. & Co. (dot) Phil. (dot)" backmark dating at Worthpoint for the button shown there is very incorrect. (snort) It is absolutely definitely a post-civil-war Horstmann backmark. The 1859-70 version had the name "Brothers" fully spelled out, not abbreviated.

Fyrffytr1, for whatever it's worth to know, the McGuinn-&-Bazelon book on backmark-dating and the Tice backmark book are in agreement about C-Hauk's Horstmann backmark... as you said, 1893-1947.

 

[C-Hauk]

Thank you all for your feedback!