Myers Depot Metal Detectors

First Colonial Spanish Patriotic Coin Button

K

kweis

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After I cleaned this took me a few days to find out what this was. No other detectorist I know had any idea and never saw one. Turned out to be a Spanish Patriotic coin button that was manufactured in Spain or Mexico maybe in the mints themselves between about 1720 and 1800. These buttons were patterned after the 8 Reals and a lot of the varieties were dated just like the coins. Apparently these were popular in the colonies and worn as an "in your face" to the British before the Revolution. Most were linked (cuff links) as this one was but they were usually separated early on as a result of the thin link made for them. Thus supposedly very rare to find a linked set. Site I found them in dated from the 1740's so fit right it. This one is dated 1764. Having a lighting issue with the pics but think they're ok.
 

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Thanks all for the responses. Should add they were made in two versions pewter and brass. The ones I found are brass.
 
Thanks! So, do have to change title of this thread now from first to second. I found a similar button over a year ago but didn't know what it was but now I do. The first one was found at an ancestral home site in northwestern Virginia dating from 1750. There's a picture of it back in help ID subforum somewhere.
 
Nice button, it has a special characteristic if we look at the worlds we can see that right one is on the left one, original coins and buttons have left world on right one.

You say that may be from Spain or Mexico, I think that the most are from east coast of USA (from the thirteen original states), they are not a common find in Spain.
 
Always wondered what the reasoning by all the coil holes... here's a sensible reason for some of them.

Sent from my SM-F926U using Tapatalk
 
kweis said:
After I cleaned this took me a few days to find out what this was. No other detectorist I know had any idea and never saw one. Turned out to be a Spanish Patriotic coin button that was manufactured in Spain or Mexico maybe in the mints themselves between about 1720 and 1800. These buttons were patterned after the 8 Reals and a lot of the varieties were dated just like the coins. Apparently these were popular in the colonies and worn as an "in your face" to the British before the Revolution. Most were linked (cuff links) as this one was but they were usually separated early on as a result of the thin link made for them. Thus supposedly very rare to find a linked set. Site I found them in dated from the 1740's so fit right it. This one is dated 1764. Having a lighting issue with the pics but think they're ok.
Click to expand...

Cool!!! Congrats!!!
 
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