Featured Button found metal detecting

Was detecting near a 19th century private road and this popped up. I had never seen a a button back like this with the cross bar. I’m guessing it’s Victorian but figured I’d ask if anyone has seen one like it? Age? I’d imagine it was silver plated or gold gilt originally.

 

Nice...hard to see how you would maneuver a needle an' thread to attach it, though.

 

I can’t tell if one end of the cross bar on the back was originally attached to the decorative part. If it wasn’t, perhaps it was meant to slide onto something, like a shoe charm does. But it could perhaps have been intended to slide onto a ribbon? I remember seeing an antique choker necklace I couldn’t afford; faded silk ribbon with a gilt and jet decoration. It was so long ago my memory is hazy.

 

I broke one side of the cross bar off when cleaning the dirt out from under it. At first I also wondered if it was meant to come up, but I’m 99% sure I broke one side.

 

I’ve never sewn a button on. The two holes and space below aren’t adequate?

 

Those 2 holes on the crossbar don't seem to coincide with relief on the body of the button...there would need to be a way to thread back 'n' forth through the assembly in order to attach it, if it is indeed a button...tho I can't think of what else it might be.

 

If it’s a button, it would probably be sewn on by passing the thread through the shank (between the bar and the button face). One would have to sew the length of the shank/bar though, because otherwise it would slide back and forth.

For those who don’t sew, in the image above, the little loop thingy is the shank. Such buttons are generally used for thicker fabric, such as coats or cardigans, but the shank is usually narrow. Perhaps this was a decorative item designed to be attached permanently? To a hat or dress, or…?

I have no clue what the little holes are for, but I’m curious!

 

Is it a buckle off a belt maybe?

 

I guess it would be hard to pass a thread back and forth. I just assumed it worked like a standard two hole button, but again I’m no seamstress. As a metal detectorist in an area with history back to the 1600’s I get to see a lot of buttons from throughout that time period. It’s one of the most common finds outside of straight up trash. Every old farm field has a handful or two in it. I guess a strap of some kind could have slid under. I can’t see someone sewing the length of the button like you mentioned.

 

It’s the size of an American dime or so. Toothpick for scale.

edit: looking back at my photos this toothpick type looks a lot like a pencil if you don’t look close. I could see why the size may not be apparent immediately.

 

What an awesome find! I taught my son the art, and he'd always find change.

 

Thanks, I’ve been striking out lately. This is one of the only keepers I’ve come up with this spring. No value, but an interesting example. I love the hobby though. It’s exciting not knowing what the next signal will reveal.

 

We take our detector when we go camping and check the empty campsites.

 

I’ve considered trying campgrounds. How do y’all make out? I abhor expending effort to dig up loads of modern trash. For this reason I typically only target areas that likely had activity in the 18th or 19th centuries and haven’t had much in the past 75 years or so. I definitely miss out on cool stuff using plan. It turns out there’s modern trash everywhere too.

 

We find bottle caps and stuff at the sites but my son also found like 4 bucks in change that had been there for quite some time.

 

You gotta be careful doing detecting as it's illegal to do on most land without permission afaik to protect archeological sites and of course land owners. The guys here do it at the beach to find more modern treasures that they turn in, and then get to keep if no one claims them.

I watched The Detectorists last year and it was a pleasant, fun watch. Of course in the UK they definitely get more interesting stuff than US...

 

I didn't even notice the pick to be honest. My mind filtered it out. Focussed on the loot

 

Definitely smaller than I thought! Still could have been meant to slide onto a ribbon. Here’s some examples of ribbon chokers. Fancier and larger than this would have been, but it gets the idea across.