Guides › Metalwork

Identifying buttons

From Tudor shanked balls to gilt livery buttons — small, common, datable.

Metal buttons become common finds from the 16th century. Early ones are solid or hollow-cast with an integral shank; the 18th century brings large flat discs, often gilded and sometimes engraved; the 19th adds stamped two-piece buttons with makers' backmarks, plus uniform and livery buttons with crests and regimental devices.

Turn it over first — backmarks like 'TREBLE GILT' or a maker's name and town can date a button within decades. The shank type (cast integral, soldered wire loop, stamped plate) is a good period clue, as is overall construction: one-piece versus two-piece stamped shells.

Uniform buttons reward research: a regimental number or corporate crest can tie a field to a documented presence. Record diameter, construction, backmark text verbatim, and any gilding traces — and photograph front and back with equal care.

From the guide library inside Collectors Catalogues, a free app for cataloguing antiques and finds with honest, museum-grade records.

More on metalwork

Identifying harness and horse fittings — Pendants, mounts, and buckles.

Identifying weights — Standardised mass, marked.

Identifying keys and locks — Bit, bow, and stem.

Identifying pins and needles — Head form and point.

Identifying mounts and fittings — Rivets, solder, and back.

Identifying buckles — The commonest metal-detecting find after coins — and surprisingly datable.

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