Flat button enigma?

[Geologyhound]

I had to go wading through the snow, but I wanted to get out once in January. I went back to a spot with an old house and garbage dump. I found a buckle and what appears to be a drawer pull for an old curved front dresser. But, I am scratching my head over what appears to be an alpha shank flat button. This is between the size of a quarter and a 50 cent piece, and is thinner than a coin. The back might have had a slightly raised rim. The back is green just like an old Indian head penny and does not appear to have any writing. The alpha shank would suggest a manufacture date of the late 1700s to early 1800s. But, the front has scratched plating (worn around the edges) which looks almost likes stainless steel.

I don’t know if anything was ever plated in stainless. The alpha shank would be way too early. There would’ve been chrome steels in the early 1800s but I don’t know that early chrome steel would resist corrosion for this long.

I suppose this could be silver plate, but the shade just appears to be a little off. I suppose it could have something to do with how it has weathered. Also, the front is scratched up which would indicate it has to be a fairly thick plate or else I would’ve expected it would’ve flaked off by now.

I wondered if it could be something more modern, but the patina on the back and the corrosion pits on the shank just looks ”old”. I also wondered if it could be part of a two-piece button, but I don’t know why they would put a different metal on the front if it would just be covered.

Any ideas?

 

[Fredneck]

Colonial tombac button, a brass alloy made of copper, zinc, tin or lead, they resist corrosion. That's a nice one you found, they're often broken.

 

[Ism]

Colonial tombac button, a brass alloy made of copper, zinc, tin or lead, they resist corrosion. That's a nice one you found, they're often broken.

I'm not so sure. The back indicates brass or bronze. It is definitely plated; in this case I think silver plate.

 

[laplander]

It is a Tombac in my opinion. What is an Alpha shank? Alpha is Greek for beginning or first?

 

[fwcrawford]

I say Tombac button too… I have found a couple of them.

 

[Geologyhound]

Colonial tombac button, a brass alloy made of copper, zinc, tin or lead, they resist corrosion. That's a nice one you found, they're often broken.

I have found tombacs before. They are always a strong gray color, come out of the ground looking pretty clean, and as you say they do resist corrosion well. However this one is definitely green on the back and also has green showing around the edges on the front where the plating is wearing off. How much variability is there in tombac metallurgy and coloration? Were tombacs ever plated?

 

[Geologyhound]

I'm not so sure. The back indicates brass or bronze. It is definitely plated; in this case I think silver plate.

A couple other people who looked at it think it is what is called “Silver Wash”. Apparently that was done either with true silver or nickel silver (which was cheaper and apparently more durable). Which this one might be, I do not know. However nickel silver might explain the slight brighter coloration from what I would’ve expected silver to look like. I’m not finding anything online regarding the “silver wash“ process or how it differed from typical plating at the time.

 

[Geologyhound]

It is a Tombac in my opinion. What is an Alpha shank? Alpha is Greek for beginning or first?

Alpha shanks (yes, named for the shape of the Greek letter), were one of the first shank styles of flat buttons. Alpha shank style flat buttons were manufactured (but not necessarily lost) from about the 1770s to 1800. I have attached a screenshot of flat button shank styles from daacs.org. The full manual can be found here: https://www.daacs.org/wp-content/uploads/buttons.pdf. My apologies, I don’t know that I hotlinked that address properly. But, if you paste it in your browser it should take you to the proper website.

 

[Fredneck]

I have dug many with zero corrosion, but tombacs do corrode, here's a couple examples. Kind of hard from internet pics to tell if thats corrosion wrap around or if some of the silver wash has worn off.