✅ SOLVED ? Shank button from 1840s house

[White Akuma]

? Shank button from 1840's house

This is the first button like this I have found whole and was hoping to get some info on it. I don't know much about these type buttons so all info is greatly appreciated! Also any good tips on cleaning is also welcomed, but nothing that could mess it up, hehe, for some reason I've become really fond of this little devil since I found it yesterday and am hoping it'll be something Civil war era or earlier due to the neighborhood where the house has stood since being built in the 1840"s.



Seems to be a rounded shape of a grayish green metal with some small spots like rust here and there. Has a little weight to it so might be solid. Also has a defined line where it meets the base which has a dark metal look with a greenish patina like on copper As you can see it is still pretty crusted but I'm wanting to work pretty slow on it to get it looking as nice as possible. No noticible design on the front side of it so far, but on the back some faint letters are coming through. Only a stand alone P so far though. Once again to any who give me any info or cleaning tips...Many Thanks!

 

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[kuger]

Called a Ball button.Said to be worn by some Zouave Regiments in the CW,but we find em frequently in pre CW sites...often Chinese sites

 

[TheCannonballGuy]

Kuger is right, it is a brass 2-piece "ball-button," primarily civilian-clothing usage (such as Ladies' dresses) but was on a few Militia unit uniforms too. Manufactured from the 1830s through the present day. Popular in the 1830s to 1850s, with just a very few State Militia units wearing them at the start of the civil war. Fell out of favor very rapidly after 1861. But some are still worn on Virginia Military Institute cadet uniforms (and Ladies' coats) today. The only way to time-date a 2-piece ball-button is if it has a maker's/dealer's-mark on the back ("backmark"). When you can make out more than one or two letters in your button's backmark, let us know what it says and we'll try to time-date it for you. Due to their use diminishing drastically after the 1850s, yours probably is from before the civil war. Won't know for sure until we hear the backmark on it.

 

[White Akuma]

Great Info! Gonna definitely have to hit that spot every chance I get now till its no longer accessible. A company recently bought the property the house is built on and is presently renovating the inside and slowly stripping the ground around it to and covering it with gravel for more parking space. Have to do some more research as well. Not sure if I'm remembering it correctly but I do believe some Zouave relics might have been found in fields farther out of town by other people. Probabley wishful thinking on my behalf, but that'd be amazing for me! Now time to find more period related items other than Square nails, lol. Any ideas on an efficient way to clean it without ruining a chance to ID it?

 

[kuger]

Buckleboys post on here in the preservation section is top notch on tips to cleaning buttons.Cool find too!!!!