Big Boys Hobbies

Civil War buttons ~ Real, Replicas or Reproductions?

Snowy

Snowy

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I found these 3 buttons metal detecting the other day.
They're nice to look at, to say the least. I'm not overly excited because I think they're fakes. I like to know what I have before getting excited.
HOWEVER, I found them in a place where it is possible to find the real deals of these.
I could tell you some other stuff I've found there, but I'd have to kill you. :lol:
Seriously, though, if I tell what else I've found there, it would give away the site to some, and I can't do that with this site.
I found some VERY old stuff there, and this area was constantly visited by high military and government officials before, during and after the Civil War era.
I say they are replicas until I'm proven otherwise. You can tell me what you think they are, but tell me WHY you say that, please. No one seems to want to explain this to me, even though I ask. They say stuff like, "I won't tell you why, but..."
Do you think they are real, replicas or reproductions? What is it about the buttons that tells you that? I'd like to be able to know how to tell the difference.

The pics were taken after a little dish soap, warm water and a soft bristle toothbrush to get the dirt off/out. I'm hoping someone can tell me.

Thanks in advance for any help, gang. (BTW ... YES, that's gold gilt on the CSA button)
 

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I've never even seen a civil war button, but what struck me as odd right away (and I could be way off base) was the cast marks on the "I" buttons. Quick Google search comes up with a few things: I lost the page already, but read something about these type never being cast. There are pics of replica/fake CSA cufflink (same front and back as yours, just a cufflink) and they mention the backmark being 20th century. Here's the link, scroll down almost to the bottom or do a find for "cufflink" and you'll find it.

I'm in northeastern NJ and we have lots of Revolutionary War relics found from time to time. Did you find this in Maine?
 
Thanks, Tim. I looked at that site before and I couldn't find where it really told me anything about the Infantry buttons that I have. Perhaps I missed something.

Yes, I found these in Maine. I've found some other Civil War era items in that location that were hand held by professionals and determined to be real.

Items such as these buttons were/are common to be copied, which is the reason for my post. Getting them to a pro to handle them in real life is a challenge for me. I have no plans for the buttons, just a simple determination. If they turn out to be real, they'll most likely be given to a museum. If they are determined to be copies, they'll most likely end up given away.

Like I said, though... they were found at an area that was highly political and highly frequented by military personnel during that era, so it's important to determine. I don't really care if they are real or not, but it'd be nice to have an idea what to do with them.
 
Very cool. I didn't know CW stuff was this/that far north. Hope they're real for your sake.

I'm very new to this hobby and can only imagine how wild it would be to find anything CW or earlier. I guess that's why we keep digging, eh? :yes:
 
The two large ones ......

Look like they were cast. The small one looks original. That's not to say that buttons were cast at a later period. I don't know.
The ones in my album I feel are the real deal and are clearly not cast. The "loops" on back were for sure braised (SP?) on.
M
 
well the csa looks repro to me because the stamping on the backmark looks too way too new to be cw era.i seen alot of waterbury button backmarks and that style of backmark looks to be 1940's or newer.i live in waterbury so i find alot of em.
as far as the "I" infantry buttons??? idk ..that weird back mark gets me?what does the backmark say on those cast buttons?? i'm not familiar with those cast one pieces but the seam looks too good to me to be legit.idk snowy maybe i'm wrong but i hope for your sake they are the real deal! nice conversation pieces if they turn out to be repros.
crossin my fingers for ya!
dave
 
We're not sure about the markings on the Infantry buttons, but they say 197 or 179 or 175.

I sent Waterbury a copy of the pic to see if they could tell me when that button was produced, but no answer yet.

The seams kinda threw me too, but then I saw some designs from back then that had them.

Tim, you're right! It's why we do it! :yes:

ewemule, the seam got me, too. IDK . ..

Thanks Dave. Definitely conversation pieces, at least.

BTW, the condition of the buttons is of no concern. There are things over 200 years old there that's been moved around more recently. These were found within feet of each other, which could indicate a button spill.
 
I believe the Infantry buttons are reproductions. They should be 2 piece buttons and probably a backmark of "Superior Quality"

Do they have civil war re-enactments where you found them?
 
Being a CW Re-Enactor for 12 years as well as being a lifetime CW nut, I'm inclined to say that the "I" Infantry buttons are legit. Probably CS due to the lack of brass duing the later part of the war, so I'm guessing 1863-1865. As far as the CSA may be more modern.

Perhaps thay had a veteans reunion there before 1915 and the CSA was a more modern pc. that was lost.

As far as them being newer reproductions, is there a chance a CW Re-Enactment was done @ this site?
 
I found some Infantry buttons in the book Uniform Buttons of the United States by Warren K. Tice, but none had the little square thingy on the back.

As far as reenactments, they have, but I'm not sure where on the land the reenactment was held. I don't know if a reunion was held there, but it is possible due to the family's history.
 
They could be imported buttons. I'd send the Museum Of The Confederecy photos to have them identify.

They're very knowledgeable as well as helpful. I had a chance to go there & made an appt to see the orig. Battle Flag that my Regiment carried. (12Th Reg Georgia Volunteer Infantry). Rebecca Rose the Flag curiator show me around her dept as well as all of the flags that they had stored in the back that the public does not galways get a chance to see.

Keeps us posted & HH!!
 
Interesting

This is an interesting post, Snowy. I didn't even realize that buttons were reproduced to try to look like old civil war buttons. I used to collect buttons, but we really don't have many old buttons around our area. Hope they turn out to be legit! Cheers!
GiGi
 
The "I" buttons very well could be legitimate. They were often one piece buttons and were cast in any metal available. They are Confederate Block I's. If they were made locally and not from a major button manufacturer they also tend to not have backmarks. The little blob/block on the back of them is curious though...
 
CW buttons can be valuable, and even replicas or reproductions aren't a daily find, so they're worth more than a cash value if indeed they are not originals. Sounds like they aren't. If they were, they belong in a museum.

I found the 3 of them in the same general area, which means it was a spill or ripped off a jacket.

Seems as though it's not so easy to tell a copy. We'll chalk these up as copies and the CSA button a reproduction.
 
Snowy said:
Thanks, Tim. I looked at that site before and I couldn't find where it really told me anything about the Infantry buttons that I have. Perhaps I missed something.

Yes, I found these in Maine. I've found some other Civil War era items in that location that were hand held by professionals and determined to be real.

Items such as these buttons were/are common to be copied, which is the reason for my post. Getting them to a pro to handle them in real life is a challenge for me. I have no plans for the buttons, just a simple determination. If they turn out to be real, they'll most likely be given to a museum. If they are determined to be copies, they'll most likely end up given away.

Like I said, though... they were found at an area that was highly political and highly frequented by military personnel during that era, so it's important to determine. I don't really care if they are real or not, but it'd be nice to have an idea what to do with them.
Click to expand...


Snowy, they are 100 percent fake... Especially in maine...ha
Never seen any "Cast I-Blocks" with lines like that or a mark like that... The other CSA is not even close... Looks like somone is seeding your spot! Maybe a club seeded it to hunt! Lots of cheap fakes with marks made, etc out there and those are them! Strange they showed up in Maine being CS... Either a joke on the local relic hunters or seeded...
Post some of those civil war relics you found in Maine... Like to see those too! What professional held them and said they were real in Maine??? Sorry but just telling you what I see...Fakes!
 
Probably they are, h2.... they could have been from re-enactors, as previously posted. And no one is seeding that area, I can assure you of that.
People shouldn't be so surprised to find civil war buttons here in Maine. Many of our boys went off to war and would have lost buttons from their own uniforms when they got back or actually brought back confederate items as trophies.

Also, the south was a pretty harsh place to be after the war and a few southerners may have moved all the way up here to Maine to start over.

I won't post some of the other stuff I found there in this string cuz I don't wanna give this site away. Some people know what I found where, and posting it in here would give it away.

Please re-read my post.... I never said a professional hand held these buttons. They checked some other Civil War "era" items for me.
 
I turned these buttons in to a museum. They wrote up an agreement, which we both signed. I was supposed to have an answer by Wednesday, but didn't get a phone call... still waiting. At the same time, I turned in an 1880s copper picture frame I found. It was a small one, but reviewed by an antique dealer who offered a price for it. All of the items turned in were listed on the written and signed agreement.

To top it all off, I was able to sneak out for a bit tonight after work (my early day). Hubby and I scrambled in some detecting before a rain shower. He pulled a CSA button tonight from a completely different area of the 400+ acre estate.

We're sure the buttons are replicas. We're sure the frame is real.
The replica buttons will be given back to us and we'll display them in a case for conversation purposes. Just waiting on a phone call. If it doesn't come in, I'll call them.
 
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