Confederate Stippled R Button - Real or Not?

[VMI88]

I recently bought a small bag of items from a collector's estate - most were newer but there were a few Civil War buttons mixed in. This Rifleman button by Hammond, Turner, & Bates Ltd. of Manchester was the best of them (if real). It compares well to ones I was able to find online and I haven't run across any references to restrikes from this manufacturer. Can anyone please verify one way or the other?

 

[Virginia Dave]

I recently bought a small bag of items from a collector's estate - most were newer but there were a few Civil War buttons mixed in. This Rifle button by H, B, & T of Manchester was the best of them (if real). It compares well to ones I was able to find online and I haven't run across any references to restrikes from this manufacturer. Can anyone please verify one way or the other?

Please post photos

 

[bobinwmass]

Yes, that is an authentic one. While one of the most common Confederate Riflemen buttons, none of them are easy to find. It was made in 4 sizes. Nice surprise to find in the pile.

 

[VMI88]

Thanks for the confirmation! It looked good but I seem to recall there were some restrikes made from original dies (or at least that was the claim) in the 70s. Dixie Gun Works used to sell some script letter Confederate buttons made in England. I don't remember if they had period backmarks but they at least had correct round wire shanks.

Are there any suspect backmarks on stamped buttons (apart from Waterbury, of course)?

 

[bobinwmass]

There were some Confederate buttons made by William Dowler, that years after the war Dowler made restrikes using the original face, but the restrikes have the later backmark using "Ltd" (limited I believe). Similar thing with the Confederate Navy buttons by Firmin. There are later restrikes of those. Not sure if there are others off the top of my head. Just going by memory and not referring to the books. I whetted my collecting appetite on Confederate buttons 45-50 years ago, when prices were reasonable and rare buttons could still be frequently found in the junk boxes at auctions, flea markets, and antique shops.

 

[bobinwmass]

Another confusing backmark for Confederate buttons is "SUPERIOR QUALITY". Some of the original two-piece CSA and some of the letter buttons use it. On original buttons the words flow around the button in one direction as you turn the button. Later buttons for veterans and repros also use the term, but you see "SUPERIOR" above the shank, reading left to right, and then "QUALITY" below the shank, also reading left to right, so not one flowing term. Probably not explainiing well, if I get a chance later I will post a photo of what originals look like.

 

[VMI88]

No, I get what you're saying about the flow of the letters. Thanks for all the pointers!

Now that you mention it, I think it was Firmin buttons Dixie carried back on the 80s.

 

[VMI88]

All this talk about English-made Confederate buttons led me to do some reading. According to Tice, the vast majority of the English buttons are found in non-dug condition. That probably means they were captured in bulk, either on a blockade runner or in a depot at the end of the War. We've all seen accounts where blockade runners were captured with tens of thousands of buttons in the cargo. My question is, what became of all of those buttons?

I would think the demand for Confederate buttons as souvenirs would have been high in the North. Is there any record of them being sold to the public? I read an article once about how popular reproduction Confederate currency was up North during the War, with newspaper advertisements from sellers being fairly common. Has anybody seen any indication of what happened to all these Confederate buttons? You'd think some enterprising merchant would have purchased them from the government and sold them off for a nickel or dime apiece. (I know Bannerman did later, but I'm talking about during and immediately after the War). I'm just curious where these buttons have been all these years!

 

[13 IL Cav & 64 GA Inf]

It continues to amaze me the simple amount of knowledge that some members of CWT have!

 

[R. Porter]

It continues to amaze me the simple amount of knowledge that some members of CWT have!

Amen!