Below is the response from 3 different gentlemen that work in the field who I reached out to. All the answers vary slightly. I did some research on my own and did find a sea captain existed in the town who did serve in the continental navy revolutionary war....just trying to tie him to the sight through old maps..but no luck yet. I guess what I do know it's absolutely a military button (my first) and before 1812 for sure. I will continue to dig and if I have any definity will keep you posted. I am just happy to have my first military button and a find I won't soon forget.
***First off let me say that I think this one to be English and they are not my specialty field. What I can offer you is not fact, but opinion. This one appears to be a little later than the dates of the coins, perhaps 1790's or later, but pre-1812. It appears to be English made, and I would suggest that it is English. There are scores and scores of English naval button varieties from the late 18th and early 19th Centuries. I am not aware of a good reference or resource that covers them.
***This looks like a button from the American Continental Navy, ship's officer
rank.
You know ... the time when a bunch of colonials kicked out the Brits.
It also fits the time period of the coins you found.
A similar button can be found in the book .... "Military Buttons of the
American Revolution" by Don Troiani ... Page 107, # ACNMe
***A very interesting button. It looks British , probably Royal Navy .From the photo the plating looks like it was gilt correct? I'll have to check a bit further to see if it's a known pattern, might date a little after the revolution .
