Is it a button?

[Riggleman]

Found this today at a CW site, my digging partner dug the smaller one. Both came out of the ground shiny and smooth no patina or tarnish. Unsure of what they are made of but they are not magnetic. Both also appear to have a broken shank like from a flat button. They were locked maybe 20 ft apart, camp lead, bullets, horse shoes, square nails and a little modern trash were dug in the area. This sling type swivel was also dug nearby, if anyone knows a date range or use for it CW or not. Thanks for looking.

 

[DownNDirty]

It's a tombac button

 

[smokeythecat]

Tombac buttons are alloyed buttons made in the third quarter of the 18th century.

 

[TheCannonballGuy]

More specifically, it is made of "White Tombac"... a different alloy from plain Tombac, which is an alloy of about 80-to-85% copper with the rest being zinc. Canada made some plain Tombac 5-cent coins during World War Two. White Tombac is about the same 85/15 alloy except for also containing 1% Arsenic, which makes the alloy a grey to silver-ish color. The arsenic in White Tombac seems to keep organic patina from forming on it, causing most White Tombac buttons to come out of the ground looking completely uncorroded, and sometimes even still a bit shiny, especially on the button's "spun" (lathe-turned) back. I've been told that White Tombac buttons were popular for civilian clothing in the late-1700s through very-early 1800s.