Old Metal Buttons

[pike1313]

I found these buttons while metal detecting in Utah. I actually found more then 100 of these buttons.

 

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[TheCannonballGuy]

Pike, thank you for your time-&-effort in providing the additional photos. It's now looking like even more of them are Foreign-made than I originally suspected.

The anchor button is nearly-identical to a mid-20th-century Royal Canadian navy button.

The word "qualitat" (it isn't qualitay) in the backmarks is German/Austrian for quality.

The word Wien is the German/Austrian name for the city of Vienna, which is Austria's capital.

The crossed-hammers emblem is a common logo for the Mining Industry in Europe. The identical crossed-hammers on your button with a wreath surrounding them was used by East German (DDR) Mining Industry Officers until the dissolution of that country in 1990.

The fireman's helmet with the long low "crest" on it, as seen on your buttons, is an antique European style. If you looked at the Currier-&-Ives painting/print "The Night Alarm" referenced by DCMatt, which shows American firemen in 1854, you'll notice that even back then their fire-helmets look only a little different from the American style in use today (no crest, and VERY-long rear brim to protect the back of the fireman's neck).

 

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[Bigcypresshunter]

I didnt realize so many were one piece buttons.

The P is a policeman's uniform button.

 

[steelheadwill]

Great Work on ID'ing some rather obscure buttons
CBG, I'm glad to know the name of those swords, the short Roman is what I meant,
Nice crossed Gladii button .. ( Roman Plural?)
I came across this pic of that style of torch, popular with Pro Lincoln 'Wide Awake' Movement,
may be of help with date...
Best Digs all

 

[Bigcypresshunter]

Okay so most of the backs on the buttons are extremely rusty. I actually found these in a sandbox at a park in Utah.

So from the replies this is what has been figure out.
Pic#1- Fraternity, Reunion or Crown? On the back of one is the word EXTRA

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I didnt realize it at first but its not a structure, its a crown.
It may be the bent cross crown of Hungary.

 

[Bigcypresshunter]

Are they all solved?

 

[allen]

pic three still looks like a saber or sword
with a cannon and three cannonballs to me.

 

[Bigcypresshunter]

pic three still looks like a saber or sword
with a cannon and three cannonballs to me.

OK Allen it may be a WWI Austria-Hungary artillery button.
http://www.alterego.exploger.com/title,Austro-hungarian_artillery_button,galid,29,rid,84.html

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Strange artillery button with different sized cannonballs and no wheels but it is what it is.
http://cgi.ebay.com/AUSTRIA-HUNGARY-BUTTON-ARTILLERY-CAP-CAPPE-14mm-/120750044381

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Did we miss any?

 

[TheCannonballGuy]

Okay, having done some more research, I'm now convinced that despite my early opinion of the button shown in original-poster Pike's photos, it has finally been correctly ID-ed (by BigCypressHunter) as a World-War-One-or-earlier Austro-Hungarian artilleryman's button. Nice work, BCH.

Here's a link to a photo showing the Austro-Hungarian artillery button on an original 1896 uniform: http://www.lovettartillery.com/Austro_Hungarian_FA_EM_Tunic.html

I was misled by the very-very strange shape of the cannon (it looks like it dates from the 14th-Century) -- and also by the fact that one of the three cannonballs is a lot larger than the other two. A cannon doesn't shoot different-sized cannonballs ...and therefore, on absolutely EVERY American and British and French artillery button I've ever seen, the grouped cannonballs are always all the same size as each other. (To see what I mean, check each of the many artillery button photos in the Albert button-book and Tice button-book.)

I think it's worth mentioning that (quite surprisingly) nearly all of US-digger Pike's many buttons from his Utah site have turned out to be Foreign origin -- mostly European (and especially, Austrian) origin.
In addition to the Austro-Hungarian artillery button:
button showing the Hungarian crown,
the "Wien" backmarked buttons (Austrian name for Vienna, its capital city),
crossed-swords button's backmark has "AS" - the abbreviation for Austria,
the "Qualitat" backmark (German/Austrian word for quality),
the crossed-hammers emblem is a common logo for the Mining Industry in Europe,
button showing a fireman's helmet with the long low "crest" on it is an antique European style helmet, used by both soldiers and firemen,
the Policeman's "P" button has an Old-English (European) letter P,
the Waterbury Buttons website shows that company made some of Pike's fireman's-buttons for European countries,
Royal Canadian Navy button,
French or German army regimental button with just a European-style "5" on it.

 

[Bigcypresshunter]

Green check pike1313.

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[TheCannonballGuy]

I realize it's been more than a month since the last post in this thread. But I thought maybe a few of you who were involved in it might be interested in learning the ID of one of the few remaining unidentified buttons. I found the ID for it while doing research on the crossed-broadswords pin.

I can now show that the unidentified button with crossed swords is a Czeckoslavakian Army button. The Czech Army buttons for sale at the linked website (http://www.uniformalsupply.com/10-Czech-Army-Gold-Buttons-CZ-1062G.htm) even have the unusual "lined and quartered" background around the crossed swords. It is yet another button in Pike1313's group that turns out to be European, even though he dug them in Utah.

 

[Bigcypresshunter]

Ah OK. Now its a green check. These multiple item threads are tough to get checked off.

 

[Walter]

#1 Hungarian button, crown on
#2 Check Army button
#3 Austro-Hungarian Artillery button
#4 CS – abbreviation of Czechoslovakia
#5 Crossed Gamers – symbol of miners
#6 Police button
#7-1 Fire department
#7-2 5th Infantry regiment of Austro-Hungarian army
#10 UK merchant fleet

If you are going to trade some day your buttens, do not forget to give me know

 

[Bigcypresshunter]

All this work and no green checK?

 

[Walter]

I have no idea what the green check mean.
Also, the small star on big picture is Austro-Hungarian collar rank device

 

[Bigcypresshunter]

I have no idea what the green check mean.
Also, the small star on big picture is Austro-Hungarian collar rank device

Green check means solved; the items in question have been IDed.
Thanks for the help Walter.

#4 CS – abbreviation of Czechoslovakia Good to know.