WWII era military uniform button

pete k · Oct 20, 2011

Hey all. I got permission to detect an old vacant home and have found some pretty cool things like a couple of old toy cars, toy pistol, a spill of 50 copper mems (someone must have dropped a roll of pennies in the 70s), a Schaefer "Circle of Sports" club member pendant, a 1932 Canadian penny and about six or seven wheats from 1930 to '58.
Among these, and my favorite find at this spot so far, is this WWII era military uniform button I dug up at about 4"-5" as a penny signal. I did some googling and ID'ed it (http://www.ukdfd.co.uk/ukdfddata/showrecords.php?product=11687&cat=all).
I scrubbed it with soap on a toothbrush under running water but can't seem to get all the dirt off. Anyone know of a safe way to further clean it? Also, does anyone have an idea what the second pictured thing is? I forget how close to the button it was but it seems to be a decorative piece to something fancy. :?:

Thanks for looking. Hope you're all having a good week. HH.

Wildcat1750 (nyjrbethelct) · Oct 20, 2011

Nice button find. That's so funny that you had to go to a website from the UK to ID it. :lol:

Nick

njal · Oct 20, 2011

Nice find Pete. I use olive oil on some old Penny's
that I find,but it takes weeks.
Maybe someone will have a better idea on how to get that clean.

RRPG · Oct 21, 2011

Pete - Please find a picture below of a button that was in similar condition to yours. I then cleaned it using a small wire brush, referred to in the UK as a shoe 'suede' brush. These are basically small brass bristled brushes used for scrubbing suede shoes. After using that, I then used a 'Brillo' pad to get it to shine. These pads are normally used in the kitchen for cleaning oven dishes and the like and they are basically a wire wool pad impregnated with a strong soap.

Army buttons are made of strong materials so will easily stand such cleaning methods.

Hope that helps.

RRPG

boretti4blues · Oct 21, 2011

Hey Pete, I believe that button is from the WW1 era...When PhotoRob and I hunted an old WW1 camp he found one of those..Great find!

http://metaldetectingforum.com/showthread.php?t=86076

RRPG · Oct 21, 2011

boretti - This style of button was used extensively during WW1 and WW2 and was 'standard issue' to all arms of the US Army. The back of the button should have a manufacturer name on it which may pin it down to which era, and if you're really lucky may also have a date.

RRPG

Johnny9Fingers · Oct 21, 2011

Very Cool Button. The Design is the same we use today.

Wildcat1750 (nyjrbethelct) · Oct 21, 2011

njal said:
Nice find Pete. I use olive oil on some old Penny's
that I find,but it takes weeks.
Maybe someone will have a better idea on how to get that clean.

You may want to avoid olive oil on 2 piece buttons such as this however. I've heard that it seeps inside and will leak out for years after that: http://forum.treasurenet.com/index.php?topic=165857.0;wap2
Nick

pete k · Oct 21, 2011

Thanks everyone for your input and that button looks great, RRPG! I'll have to try that method. Thanks a lot for your help. HH this weekend all.

agbkyle · Oct 21, 2011

Cool..WTG

RRPG · Oct 21, 2011

pete k said:
Thanks everyone for your input and that button looks great, RRPG! I'll have to try that method. Thanks a lot for your help. HH this weekend all.

No problems

Glad I could help

WWII era military uniform button

pete k

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