Hello everyone, welcome to Buttons 101. There seems to be some confusion over two buttons, "The Tombac" and the Pewter Variety. This is good for the Novice as well as the experienced Metal Detectorists. The Tombac is grey or sometimes yellowish Button made from a brass alloy, tin and zinc. Some even contain arsenic. It is easily spotted by the mostly Greyish dull look with a dome on the back and the shank which is usually brass and soldered to the dome. It also has the hallmark swirls on the back. Some are plain, flower patterned or some other design.
Pewter Buttons are made of tin with lead and obviously have some weight to them. I usually find the real old ones and they are "Flakey" on the edges and fragile. You need to be careful with these because they will fall apart once they hit the air. Keep them in something that is airtight and not free from moving around. I've seen alot of these buttons from the Revolutionary War era. These usually have a number representitive of the regiment during the War. So far I've only found plain ones.
One other fact, back in the 1800's usually Men wore buttons to fasten things like shirts and pants. Women mostly wore buttons for fashion not for practical items.
After a while manufaturer's used the backs as advertisement or sometimes to commemerate something. I have found a few like that. One say's " Waterloo 1815" with an ornate picture below the shank. I'll post that one when i can find the picture, but here are the Tombac and pewter buttons.
