Organicseekers asked:
> Did they make them in England?
Yes. The US Merchant Marine button isn't the only modern-era American "uniformed services" button know to have "Made In England" in its backmark. For example, Great Seal US Army buttons and US Marines buttons have turned up marked made-in-England.
> Its exactly the same as the Navy Surgeons emblem from the 1700s.
No, it is not "exactly the same."
On the Royal Navy Surgeon button:
The shape of the anchor is different,
the anchor has no rope,
the anchor's flat top is thin and not made of wood.
Most important, there are no stars. In fact, there is no star (or stars, plural) on ANY Royal Navy button.
At the website you linked to (Diana's Buttons: Buttons of the UK's Royal Navy), the info given under the image of a Royal Navy Surgeon button says, "RN Surgeon At Sea - 1805 After this issue, a Surgeon will use same design as a Captain's Button. In service from 1805 to 1812." (The exact same info is under the image of the Royal Navy Surgeon In Hospital button.) So, the ONLY years in which a Royal Navy Surgeon button had an anchor on it was 1805-12. 8Reale's button is obviously not from that time-period (nor earlier).
Lastly... no buttons from before the 20th Century are known to have a backmark saying "Made In Elngland."