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Old Military Button In Gold Plate?


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Was stomping around the old cellar hole area and came across old pony horseshoe about 5" wide, nice bronze oar lock towards the lake, a domed shaped low silver content plate that I guess is from some pottery and has a nice pattern on it and lastly a military button that I thought was brass but is gold plated? Button is just under 5/8" dia, pretty small. Back is missing the loop but there is writing but that is filled in. I am a bit scared to clean it more. Has hand with sword on front on grooved background. Stars going completely around and some writing that I don't want to damage trying to clean. Not sure if anyone has come across a button like this before.

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Nice finds kac, i have found a button made by the Waterbury company that looks like yours, except mine is a fire dept. button and i think yours is older. The Waterbury company used 24k gold in making of the buttons, try looking up Waterbury company. Thanks for sharing.

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Very nice finds and I believe that Hardtimehermit has found the maker.

Great hunt an dgood luck on your next  one.

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I like the oar lock, looks pretty stout, maybe 1920's to 1930's The medallion looks like Victorian / Asian / Art Nouveau   all rolled into one. Very unique though. Another good expedition for Kac. Great stuff

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I think your right on the maker. It is a Massachusetts Volunteer Militia button from the civil war. That same maker made another button I had found  but that was brass. I thought they all were brass, guess a bit of shiny gets more recruits 😁

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Agreed on the MASS VOLUNTEER ID:
http://www.americancivilwarrelics.com/Civil%20War%20Buttons%20Federal%20State.htm

If this was just a low worth button, I would suggest a soak in diluted lemon juice, with regular brushing witha soft brush eg. worn toothbrush, This will remove the green deposits, but keep a check on it, too long in there and the gilding will also peel.
But if it has any true value [ I'm not familiar with US finds] best leave it ...

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A little late to the party but like you said it's a Mass Vol button. Some just predate Civil War. I have a couple of them. Mine were gold plated and cleaned up well using a 30/70 ratio of CLR/ water. CLR is the stuff you get at Home Depot or similar and is Clacium/ Lime/ Rust remover. I dab a toothbrush in it and scrub gently, then dip in running water, then repeating. You may be surprised on how much gold may be left on that button. If you get some on the reverse and it turns red, 4 aut (#0000) very fine steel wool cleans it up. When done with the brushing, soak it in a mix of baking soda and water to neutralize.

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Crud started to come off with mild ammonia and water and was able to scrape some if off with my finger but will probably just leave it alone.

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