My first surface find, flat button, minie ball? and pewter button?

[DownEast_Detecting]

Hunting this spot that has loads of history from early 1600's and before. Native American and Colonists. Its right where a river meets the ocean. So these banks are eroding into the water. First time i have found a flat button just sitting on the surface like that. The rocks and ledge almost act like a natural sluice box. Hopefully catching more artifacts as they fall. before they drift out towards the sea. That was the only find i didn't have to dig for.

#1 is the flat button i found on the surface

#2 i really don't know. I was thinking pewter button, but i dont know. the only one i could find with a similar shape on Tnet is the one to the right or below (depending on if you are on a computer or phone) Thoughts? Should i put it on "what is it"

#3 is it a minie ball?... top of caliper is in inch, bottom is mm.

 

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[villagenut]

Your #2 button looks much different in the last couple pics. The last pic shows a cast button with a drilled shank..can't tell if it's pewter or perhaps bronze. Looks like a 69 cal roundball for the last one..

 

[Trezurehunter]

Nice job on the surface find.

 

[DownEast_Detecting]

Your #2 button looks much different in the last couple pics. The last pic shows a cast button with a drilled shank..can't tell if it's pewter or perhaps bronze. Looks like a 69 cal roundball for the last one..

the picture with a number 2 on it.(4 separate smaller pics) is my find. The other one is the closest somewhat similar shaped one i could find on here, TreasureNet. So not the same thing. All this info is in the Original Post. 👆 Do you think my #2 is a button?
so number 3 is in fact a minie ball from a British smooth bore rifle? thanks

 

[Digger RJ]

Hunting this spot that has loads of history from early 1600's and before. Native American and Colonists. Its right where a river meets the ocean. So these banks are eroding into the water. First time i have found a flat button just sitting on the surface like that. The rocks and ledge almost act like a natural sluice box. Hopefully catching more artifacts as they fall. before they drift out towards the sea. That was the only find i didn't have to dig for.

View attachment 2099043
#1 is the flat button i found on the surface


View attachment 2099045View attachment 2099042
#2 i really don't know. I was thinking pewter button, but i dont know. the only one i could find with a similar shape on Tnet is the one to the right or below (depending on if you are on a computer or phone) Thoughts? Should i put it on "what is it"


View attachment 2099044
#3 is it a minie ball?... top of caliper is in inch, bottom is mm.

Nice!!!! Congrats!!!!

 

[l.cutler]

Your #3 is a round ball, approximately 69 caliber, not a minie ball. Minie ball is a hollow based conical bullet.

 

[Blackfoot58]

The surface find appears to have a burr edge around the shank/eye. That means mid to late 1700s IMO.
Congratulations

 

[smokeythecat]

Nice stuff. Yes, your #2 is a corroded cast probably pewter button, late 17th to 18th century. The round ball predates the invention on the minie.

 

[Aureus]

A very promising site! Definitely a musket ball and those pewter buttons look old!
Congrats!

 

[DownEast_Detecting]

Your #3 is a round ball, approximately 69 caliber, not a minie ball. Minie ball is a hollow based conical bullet.

Ok thanks, round ball, check. do you know the date range on those? so a Minie ball is like all the civil war "bullets" right? Trying to get the right terminology down cuz i know it matters with this field.

The surface find appears to have a burr edge around the shank/eye. That means mid to late 1700s IMO.
Congratulations

awesome blackfoot thanks. I have a hard time with dating buttons i find mostly flat buttons but i know some are from the 1800's. I wish there was a definitive guide on here or somewhere. With color pictures, we know there is a great sample size on this site. Im surprised someone hasn't done it.

Nice stuff. Yes, your #2 is a corroded cast probably pewter button, late 17th to 18th century. The round ball predates the invention on the minie.

thanks smokey. So #2 is for sure a pewter button. Any way to date this thing or see a similar shank. I could not find a picture of one like mine. That other picture is of someone else's on here. but it is a close as i could find.

A very promising site! Definitely a musket ball and those pewter buttons look old!
Congrats!

Thanks Aureus, but only my #2 button is pewter right? #3 is probably brass right?

 

[l.cutler]

Round balls were in use from the earliest days of firearms and are still used by muzzleloader shooters today. There is no way to say for sure how old yours is, but it is a common size for .69 caliber smoothbore muskets used during the Civil War. The minie ball is just one type of bullet used during the Civil War, they are hollow based and have grooves on the outside to hold a lubricant. https://www.historynet.com/minie-ball/

 

[Almy]

The British .75 caliber smoothbore military musket sometimes called a "Brown Bess" used during the Revolutionary war period used a .69 caliber ball. It was apparently also used by civilians after the war because lots of the balls have been found around homesteads and the countryside. A few of these firearms may have been used in the Civil War, but more advanced firearms using a Minie-type, conical projectile had been developed by that time so the muskets were likely in the minority.

 

[Blackfoot58]

ticndig, a T-Net member, helped me a lot with buttons. Attached is a sheet he shared. It gives good data on several flat buttons. I’m sure it’s ok it pass along.👍🏼

 

[smokeythecat]

Like they said the round balls are still sometimes used now, but by the time of the Civil War they had gone out of favor for the cylindrical bullet. Today, most muzzleloading hunters use a cylindrical bullet in their black powder guns. The buttons and round ball are probably all mid 18th century. Could be earlier but considering they were found near each other, they are dating the site. That pewter button is probably home made. By 1800 not many people did that anymore. I certainly don't do it today!

 

[DownEast_Detecting]

Like they said the round balls are still sometimes used now, but by the time of the Civil War they had gone out of favor for the cylindrical bullet. Today, most muzzleloading hunters use a cylindrical bullet in their black powder guns. The buttons and round ball are probably all mid 18th century. Could be earlier but considering they were found near each other, they are dating the site. That pewter button is probably home made. By 1800 not many people did that anymore. I certainly don't do it today!

ok check. so these .69 round balls could be from 1700's up until mid to late 1800's. The pewter button looks the oldest by far to me, if that is what it is. I can't find any pictures of similar shaped shanks. But the consensus on here seems to be, its a cast pewter button probably from the 1600's to maybe early 1700's. Right?

ticndig, a T-Net member, helped me a lot with buttons. Attached is a sheet he shared. It gives good data on several flat buttons. I’m sure it’s ok it pass along.👍🏼

yea i have the book that somebody copied that format from. Everybody uses those images, its usually the first thing that pops up when googling "dating buttons". I just figured with how many button pictures there are on here. someone would update it with a nice color guide. This book is from 1969, surly someone has made an updated version with exceptions and new info. NO?

 

[lenmac65]

Nice post. Can’t say I have ever found a button on the surface like that; very cool. Congrats!

 

[DownEast_Detecting]

Nice post. Can’t say I have ever found a button on the surface like that; very cool. Congrats!

thanks lenmac, yeah ive never found anything old or keepers on the surface like that. My detector was doing that weird thing when something is close to or on the surface. ( happens with bottle caps with me a lot) And i looked down and saw that button staring back up at me.