Civil War buttons ~ Real, Replicas or Reproductions?

[Snowy]

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. rofl
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)

[HEAVYMETALNUT]

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 buttons:huh: idk ..that weird back mark gets me?what does the backmark say on those cast buttons?? :confused: 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! thumbsup01
dave

[Snowy]

Dave, I sent that pic to Waterbury and still haven't gotten an answer yet. Waiting.... could be waiting forever.

As far as the Infantry buttons, we're not sure. Don't want to do anything to them yet, but they say 197 or 179 or 175 .....

Another person told me if the Infantry buttons were fake, they should be against the law. lol
No matter to me... they'll be given to a museum if they are real, or given away if they are copies... or, kept as conversation pieces if they're copies.

[coinnut]

Have you found any other real items that were in such good shape there? That would be a dead giveaway for a fake. If the wheaties are green, then the Civil War buttons should be greener lol Just a different way of looking at it.

[Snowy]

Found large cents in great shape there, just a little patina ... never a Wheat and never an Indian Head penny there.
The condition wouldn't concern me. They've got things over 200 years old kicking around there they have more recently moved around, so it could have been lost more recently. These buttons were found within a couple feet of each other, which could indicate a button spill. They were 6 inches or so down. Large cents found there we know were dropped around their date were more shallow. Sink rate seems to be low there. Hard telling not knowing.

[HEAVYMETALNUT]

snowy are you a member of the TQ forum? if you are... TQ has a civil war quest forum.a couple very knowledgeable guys there who specialize in this type of of stuff. here is the link
http://www.civilwarquest.com/community/
if not.. with your permission .i can post your pics there and see what kind of response i get back.
your call ...let me know.
dave

[coinnut]

If they end up being reproductions, they may have been from Civil War reinactments that are very popular. That would be why they are reproduced if in fact they are. But I hope someone who knows their buttons can help you on it. If they are real, they are in immaculate shape.

[Snowy]

Thanks, Dave. Nice place.... I don't want to sign up just to get some info, though.
It's not a biggie, really. I just basically want to be able to tell the difference between a real one and a remake.
You could email someone that might be able to explain the difference if you want.
I'm still waiting on some responses. I emailed the pics to some specialists but haven't heard back yet. Probably never will, but that's ok.

I suppose I'm done playing with them for now and will put them away. :)
Matybe I'll use them for a seeded hunt or something. Who knows.

[PioneerBob]

Hi! Just joined and saw your buttons. The CSA was probably manufactured in the the middle of the 20th century.. During the Civil War Centennial the National Park Service use to sell those in there gift shop.. they had that backmark...

As for the I buttons.. I noticed a raised area on the back... Look closely and see if you can see a HP in that raised area. If so those buttons were made/cast by Herb Parsley of Highland Springs VA. Herb used orginal buttons to make casts of of the buttons. then he poured molten metal into those casting to form the buttons. They were so good that unscrupulous people tried to pass them off as orginals.. Herb modified the molds to include the HP so as to discourage those people.. He also made buckles... Gary Williams of Hanover County (Hanover Brass Co.) also made buttons and buckles and his were marked with a GW on the back.

I know this was lengthy and gives you more info than you really needed.. But that is just me..

PB

[Snowy]

Thanks for the info, PB. I can't really make out what it says in that raised area...
Looks like a number on it, though... like an I261 or an L261 on the back of one of them. No idea what that might mean.

[zrickkid]

I still think the buttons are cool no matter what!