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* Exceptional * *
Strong * * Good * * Fair * * Poor *
A
Planchet
is a blank metal disk that is made of Brass, Bronze, Copper, Silver,
or Gold that is used for the manufacturing of a coin or button.
Understanding
Metallurgy for Blanks:
BRASS:
is a yellow alloy of Copper and Zinc.
BRONZE: is a yellowish alloy of Copper with up to
one-third Tin. (This was the second metal to be used by
humans).
COPPER: is a red-brown metal. The chemical
element of atomic number 29, periodic symbol Cu. (The
first metal to be used by humans).
GOLD: is a yellow precious metal. The chemical
element of atomic number 79, periodic symbol Au. When a
button is noted to be Gilt, this refers to Gold Leaf or
Gold Paint is applied to the surface over an existing
metal.
PEWTER: is a gray allow of Tin with Copper and
Antimony (Formally Tin and Led).
SILVER: is a shiny white-grayish metal, chemical
element of the atomic number 47, periodic symbol Ag.
When a button is noted to be Silvered, this is referring
to a thin coating of Silver that is applied to the
surface. A button might be completely made of Silver
also.
Understanding The Color
of Metals:
BRONZE: has the broadest Spectrum of Colors, Black,
Brown Blue, Green, Red, and a bright rich Gold.
BRASS: mostly known for Yellow, but can have Blue, a Verd (Green Marble with white veins) Antique, Green, and
Dark Red/Burgundy.
COPPER: is a Reddish~Brown Metal that has various
combined color shades in-between.
GOLD: is a deep lustrous Yellow, or Yellow-Brown Color.
PEWTER: is a Silver-Gray Metal that can have various
lighter or darker shades.
SILVER: is a shiny Grayish-White metal.
What is the difference between
Silver Plating and Silver Wash?
Silver Wash is a term
related to the process of how a button was Silvered by
button makers before the 1820's. A Silver finish used an
amalgam process which would not cover the whole button
with a nice uniform Silver finish as later
electroplating. The process usually entailed someone
hand brushing "Washing" liquefied Silver & Mercury onto
the button's surface. Then the button was placed in an
oven, and the heat would evaporate off the Mercury
leaving a thin coating of Silver fused onto the surface
of the button. This process was kind of archaic, and the
Silver Wash on the button didn't hold up after extended
use. A better manufacturing method was needed and Silver Plating
(Electroplating) was introduced somewhere in the 1820's.
This new process coated the whole button, and also gave
the button a more even coat throughout. Electroplated
buttons didn't wear down as fast or "rub-off" in areas.
Electroplating Silver and Gold was a giant leap in the
process of button making. Copper Buttons had an affinity
toward Silver, and Brass buttons had an affinity toward
Gold.
The
Manufacturing of A Blank Metal Planchet:
These early one-piece
buttons were crafted and designed by local artisans and
craftsman who made copper hardware, jewelry, and coins.
There are a few specific coin makers who were attributed for some of the
raw materials used; and there were noted areas that popular designs
are dug in quantities, such as, New York, Connecticut,
South Carolina, and Pennsylvania. Because England lost
the war, and the failing support for the French some
years later, we believe none of these inaugural
buttons would have been offered for sale in England
or France. There is only one button in 225 years, GWI
24 Heraldic Eagle with Inverted Diamond shaped Indentees
that was excavated out of the United States (Northfolk,
England). Otherwise all these early patterns are
inherent to the US. Finding out a specific person or
manufacturer of a specific design or pattern is very difficult to discover.
We most likely will never know unless some written
record is discovered. All we can do is find out who
would have had the access to raw materials, or trace the
origins of the materials used in the construction of
these buttons. Fortunately there were some remaining manufacture's records
of ordered or supplied materials with dates. We know that Pennsylvania and
South Carolina obtained their copper from England, and
that North Carolina got theirs from Switzerland. New York got
their Brass, Bronze, and Copper from smelting down the
old canons and mortars that were left over from the
American Revolution. Most of these were left in the
Newburgh-West Point Area. The smelting process of canons and
mortars is done by the action temperature of a furnace.
The heat would part the Zinc from the Brass, and the
Copper would be procured through the fire, and then
poured into a mold for making a blank planchet. The Bronze
planchets were made in a similar fashion.
Once the Copper is procured from the smelting process,
Tin would be added-in to make Bronze. Massachusetts
obtained their metal from an old canon factory in Bridgewater. The factory still had the brass racks from
the machines that were used to bore out canon barrels.
The New Jersey artisans who made copper coins had
several sources available to them. They were able to buy
their Copper straight from local mines, and some was
also purchased from Thomas Machins of New York, and a
part of their supply was imported from England, who
in-turn bought it from Sweden. Connecticut obtained most
of their Copper from Granby-Simsbury Copper Mines. We
also know that the Federal Government had tons of Raw
Copper which was ear marked for coining in New Haven
Connecticut, so a portion of this might have been
indirectly available for buttons.
These are some of the manufactures who produced the blanks
Planchet for the G.W. buttons
1) Thomas Machin & Co. Of New Grange, (Newburgh) New
York: Records indicate that Machin Mills in New
Grange (Newburgh) N.Y. was able to salvage the Bronze,
Brass, and Copper by procuring the old Revolutionary War
Brass cannons and mortars and smelting them down.
T. Machins also furnished blanks for the coiners of
Vermont and Connecticut as well in 1789.
2) Weatherlee & Co. of Boston,
Massachusetts: They obtained their metal planchets
by smelting the old Brass Racks from the machines used
for boring out cannons. Records indicate there was an
old Cannon factory located in Bridgewater.
3) Broome & Platte, Morris Cove and Westville, and
Mark Leavenworth of New Haven, Connecticut: These
three companies were able to get their metal from John
Higley at Granby-Simsbury Copper Mines.
4) Walter Mould of New Jersey: Obtained his blanks
from Thomas Machin & Co. in Newburgh, N.Y., and also
furnished blanks to coiners of Vermont and Connecticut
in 1789.
5) Harmon & Buel, Town of Rupert, Vermont:
received it's blanks from Thomas Machin of New Grange
N.Y.
~ All Dies Were Made
of Steel, and The Rollers Were Made Of Wrought Iron ~
Librarians
Notes:
A visual inspection alone
of a GW Button can not give us it's actual metallic
make-up. A button's metal content must sampled for a
metal ratio composition test to determine what the
actual composition is. This doesn't mean that most times
we can't visually tell the difference between Brass,
Copper, Bronze, Gilt, or Silver, but after being buried
for the better part of 223 years, and the metal has
succumbed to decay and corrosion, we just cannot be 100%
certain by looking at it's color. If someone didn't tell
us they added Tin to Copper, how do we know that Black
button isn't Brass instead of really being Bronze? Plus
even if they weren't excavated, many GW were smelted
from other fabricated diluted materials, so the metal
purity percentage of each separated element would be a
different ratio from each batch of planchets produced
for blanks. So where does this leave us without testing?
One can use their vast experience of handling metals
over the years. One can formulate that Copper is a
softer metal then brass, and can take an impression much
deeper and clearer, or Bronze can be a certain array of
colors that other metals just wouldn't have. Other ways
would be from written documentation of what the
manufacturer said they were made of. Within my library
pages you will be able to gain knowledge about the
different aspects of buttons to help you formulate
knowledgeable answers on your own, but nothing could be
certain without a scientific metal composition test.
My Button Condition and Rarity Scales:
My button evaluations use three overall guidelines to
determine it's present condition. First, i look at the
button's current state. This is a visual inspection to
determine if the button was buried in the ground, or if
it was kept as a keepsake, or part of a collection.
Second is an analysis of the planchet, and it's original
factory casting. This is where i look at the current
condition of the planchet, and see how well the metal
was originally blended into the making the blank. This
would include the actual collaring from the mold, the
diameter size, the proper weight, thickness, and the
smoothness or flatness of the obverse and reverse.
Seeing if the original fabrication would be susceptible
to pits, bubbles or porous areas. All these factors
helps me conclude how well a button's metal planchet
would hold-up from the different environmental / use
factors over time to it's present state. This wide range
of variables can be from physical garment usage of
buttoning and unbuttoning, to the effects of the
different kinds of soil from being buried in the ground.
Lastly, is the most important consideration to the value
of the button. The designs remaining die strike
impressions. This examination begins with knowing the
original depth and clarity of the die strike, to it's
current aged condition. This is where i magnify and look
at each individual design in the planchet, and make a
full conclusion as to its remaining condition. Plenty of
factors can weigh in this analysis, from the amount of
letter and design decay, to foreign obstructions and
trauma.
First I determine if the button is
Non Excavated or Dug:
1) A non-excavated button is one that would have been
saved as a family heirloom, a keep sake, or was part of
a coin collection.
2) An excavated button is one that was extracted from
the ground by digging it up. The button would have been
buried for an unspecified amount of time, and would have
succumbed to the earths natural elements that are found
in dirt and ground water.
I Use A Five Point Scale For The
Planchet Casting, and Strike Impressions:
1) Exceptional
2) Strong
3) Good
4) Fair
5) Poor
I Use A
Seven Point Scale for How Rare A Button is Rated:
1) R-7
1 or 2 Known to Exist
2) R-6 3 to 5 Known to Exist
3) R-5 6 -10 Known to Exist
4) R-4 11-25 Known to Exist
5) R-3 26-50 Known to Exist
6) R-2 51-75 Known to Exist
7) R-1 76-99 Known to Exist
Unauthenticated GW Button's That Have Manufacturing
Records of Production,
but No Examples are Found:
01) GW in Oval ~ Pewter ~ 34mm.
02) Linked States ~ Pewter ~ 34mm.
03) Eagle, GW and Liberty Cap ~ Copper ~ 25mm.
04) Washington at Valley Forge ~ Tombac Style ~ 32mm.
(Tombac engraved)
05) Washington, Warren and Marion ~ Copper ~ 33mm.
(hand engraved)
06) Engraved Initials “GW” ~ Copper ~ 38mm.
07) Foliated Script “GW” ~ Copper 25mm.
08) *Silver Flan “GW” and Plow ~ Silver ~ 13mm.
09) *Washington in Star ~ Brass ~ 34mm.
10) Foliated Script “GW” and Liberty Cap ~ Copper ~
25mm.
11) George Washington 1776 ~ Copper ~ 35mm.
12) *Vigilance-Cock-Rising Sun-Engraved ~ Tombac Style ~
37mm.
13) “GW” and Eagle ~ Copper ~ 25mm.
New Nation Celebration
Buttons
I
consider these three buttons below a local Artisans
Rendition of the Great Seal of the United States, and
were made to honor our New Country. These buttons would
have been sold along
side of George Washington Inaugurals, or in the same
time frame. Some of these buttons like the example above were produced on a
Manufactures level, and some were made by local Jewelers
who were skilled in engraving; or even local patriotic
Artisans who had expertise in making Copper Hardware.
Like GW buttons, foreign
manufacturers like the French cashed in and produced
patriotic buttons to profit in a newly found American
market. Popular buttons with Rattlesnakes, liberty
trees, and hats with poles all were worn with great
American pride. Below are three Local Artisan's
renditions of the Great Seal of the United States. All
three buttons are hand-engraved, and
extremely rarer
and valuable in it's own
right. The buttons should
be cherished and are considered one of America's first
heirlooms.
As for the three examples below, I cannot
give an exact date, but I believe these were hand
engraved by a local artisan between 1790-1800, or at the
latest a 25 year anniversary
button of the Constitution.
 
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