🔎 UNIDENTIFIED Is this a button? If not, what?

[Bucket Lister]

Approx. 5/8" (15mm) dia. It's attracted to a magnet. The shank--if that's what it is--(top right) was double, and offset from the middle (toward top). Found on grounds of 1850 farm house.

If this is a button, any info.?
If not, any clues as to what it is?

 

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[GaRebel1861]

I doubt its a button or a snap because it would rust when you washed the clothes. I could be wrong though.

 

[TheCannonballGuy]

Your find does appear to be an iron 2-piece button. We know for certain they were used on Military-issue "long-underwear" (longjohns) because we dig lots of those 2-piece iron buttons in civil war military campsites. Yes, iron buttons can cause a rust stain on clothing AFTER the tin-plating has worn off. But that didn't seem to matter much with underwear, which (usually) was not publicly visible, except on a clothesline.

 

[Bucket Lister]

Your find does appear to be an iron 2-piece button. We know for certain they were used on Military-issue "long-underwear" (longjohns) because we dig lots of those 2-piece iron buttons in civil war military campsites. Yes, iron buttons can cause a rust stain on clothing AFTER the tin-plating has worn off. But that didn't seem to matter much with underwear, which (usually) was not publicly visible, except on a clothesline.

Thank you--that's very exciting.
The offset shank threw me off, but some kind of... erm... union suit might make sense. 😁