Coin Buttons

[hireddutchcutthroat]

I am debating putting plain coin buttons on my CS frockcoat. I am trying to have this coat be as generic as possible to be able to fit in a number of time periods and theaters. Would coin buttons be a good choice or should I use something like Fed Eagles?

[Moonshine]

Robert,

I am in the process of having a frock made (very similar to the La. - Troiani one) and I went with buttons from the Skillet Licker. I'd choose something plain but with a little flair of being different. Coin buttons are okay but I'd try something else... Authenticity is in the details!!!

Jim Ross

[Yellowhammer]

Robert,

The plain coin button is an excellent choice. You see them on garments throughout the war and relic hunters tell me that are extremely common finds at campsites across the country.

[Skeet]

I'd like to weigh in on this subject. I know a place where the guy has several coin buttons dug from the area. I know they were very common, because this guy has a bunch of them. A couple of years ago in the Luthern cemetary they found a couple of un marked graves. They were confederates with eagle buttons on their jackets. I'm not quite sure what type of jackets they were, they were well detoriated. So, by that assumption I would think both would be acceptable. Dan Morgan 10th VA (IVR)

[Jimmayo]

Coin (flat) buttons saw extensive use in the CW on all types of garmets. IMO it was because they were inexpensive. Sort of a last resort before going to a wood button. I don't know what your impression will be but flat buttons would be my last choice. Eagle I buttons were around well before the CW in some quantity. There is evidence to support their use through out the war on jackets. I would use those.

[Yellowhammer]

Jim,

I agree about Eagle I (actually any of the branch of service marked Eagle buttons) but I'm curious as to why you don't think flat buttons are appropriate.

[hireddutchcutthroat]

My primary CS impression is AoT, but want this frock as generic as possible so I can use it for impressions and time periods that I dont do as often. I already have Fed eagles on EVERY CS jacket I own, but I wanted to get some feedback as to how wide spead coin buttons were.

[Jimmayo]

John:

Didn't mean to say they were not appropriate. They certainly were used for various items of clothing. Just said they would be my last choice. Flat buttons found in CW sites come in all sizes not just the 3/4 inch popular coat size. I have found some as large as silver dollars and as small as half dimes. It is my opinion that "most" flat buttons found in CW sites were civilian buttons pressed into military use or used on civilian clothing worn with the uniform. Some of the lesser quality ones were probably cloth covered while the nicer plated ones were worn uncovered. It is my experience that the quantity of flat buttons unearthed in CW sites is almost always a small percentage compared to the military buttons found in the same camp. I rationlized that to indicate that the majority of clothing (uniforms) were using military buttons while the civilian used articles of clothing were using flat buttons.

One example comes to mind. Hunted a CS site along the Blackwater River where I found 9 small flat buttons and six large and medium SC buttons all in an area about 4 feet square. I think this was the site of a coat and vest that was left behind. The coat had SC buttons and the vest (probably civilian) had flat buttons.

If I were making or purchasing a frock coat and living in the 1860s, I would want some sort of martial button and not a plain, civilian, everyday use flat button. Of course if it were a issued frock, it would come with whatever button was available for use.

This post is beginning to ramble a bit but hope I have shed some light on my opinion on the use of flat buttons.

Respectivly