🔎 UNIDENTIFIED Iron one piece domed button?

[Older The Better]

Found this today on the very edge of a site that has produced many brass flat buttons, a few iron 4 holes, and a few two piece domed buttons… but an iron domed one piece is throwing me. Anyone have any info on something like this, it will be a while before I really have it clean but my curiosity has me impatient so I’m posting now…

in my mind flat buttons were pretty much brass, and domed iron was likely a two piece. From what I can see of the shank it also seems more heavy duty and flat button style vs the little wire shanks I’ve encountered on two piece buttons.

 

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[ironhorse]

Hey there OTB
Your button looks to be pewter with an iron wire shank. Also due to the rusty crusties on the face, I would say it was in a very iron rich ground and the iron oxidized in places on the face of the button
Most of the pewter buttons we find are pre 1820 or so..
They didnt seem to use it much after that era...changing fashions and brass was probably more reliable and cheaper
neat find

 

[Older The Better]

Been looking at pewter buttons you may be right, I’ve got it soaking may take a week or three but maybe I’ll get some more detail out of it. Hoping there’s a back mark under the rust. Thanks for pointing me in the right direction

 

[ANTIQUARIAN]

I had the same initial thought as ironhorse, it appears to be a very corroded pewter button.
Nice early find,
Dave

 

[Older The Better]

Well I’m pretty excited if it’s pewter thanks for the opinions, that would make it a little older than the brass flat buttons. I have the spot pegged at roughly 1830, and a trade sight, I’d think it’s entirely possible they had old clothes or were re-using buttons… other possibility is it was an area the frequented and it’s an older drop than the others

 

[Older The Better]

Well bad news on the button been soaking in acv, and brushing with an old toothbrush daily, today there was a little lip of rust on the front, I put my fingernail under it to see if it was loose and a third of the button broke off, no more cleaning for this one. I’ve got it in evaporust now to convert the rust, I’m going to try something I haven’t done before, I’m going to try to put it back together and lock the whole thing in resin… a low risk experiment considering the button appears to be rusted throughout… curious to see if it locks it in or if it eventually rusts and there is a void in the resin, or even if the button discolors the resin over time where it isn’t visible