Button Help!

[James B. in Mass]

I'm hoping someone could help me age a Scovill button I found this past weekend?
Front of the button reads "Municipal Police NY" with the seal of New York in the center.
Back of the button reads "Scovill MFG CO. Waterbury" on the back. Button is about an inch across.
I can try posting a photo of the button later if it would help? Any assistance would be greatly appretiated.

Thanks in advance,

H.H.

 

[ThatCannonballGuy]

James B. in Mass wrote:
"I'm hoping someone could help me age a Scovill button I found this past weekend?
Front of the button reads "Municipal Police NY" with the seal of New York in the center.
Back of the button reads "Scovill MFG CO. Waterbury" on the back. Button is about an inch across.
I can try posting a photo of the button later if it would help? Any assistance would be greatly appretiated."

According to the book American Military Button Makers And Dealers; Their Backmarks And Dates (a.k.a. "the McGuinn/Bazelon backmark book"),
the "SCOVILL MFG CO WATERBURY" backmark was used from 1850 onward until the company ceased operation in 1962.

Important note: Slight variations in the spelling, punctuation, and even the SIZE of that backmark's lettering can tell you whether it's an 1850s, 1860s, 1870s, 1880s, 1890s, or 20th-century button. So if you do post a photo of it, please be sure to include something else nearby in the photo for scale, such as a dime.

As a button-digger myself, I'd recommend you buy a copy of that book. It has PHOTOS of all the various Scovill backmarks, which makes figuring out exactly which one you've got a heck of a lot easier.

Regards,
TheCannonballGuy [Pete George]