Civil War coat-size Navy button, "London" backmark. The verbal history of this button is that it came off of a Confederate officer’s coat in the Hampton, Virginia area. Click picture for details.
Civil War coat-size Navy button. It is often referred to as a NA 112, Navy 2-piece with border and circle of rope. The eagle is resting on a horizontal anchor, three cannon balls below, with 13 stars encircling, on a lined field. The eagle is facing left and the upper fluke of the anchor is behind the left wing….signifying Civil War era. The face of the button is simply beautiful….about 98% of the original gold gilt still remains, only having a few dark spots on the high points. The outer rim has some wear from use.
On the back of the button is “J & Co LONDON” and is complete with the stand up shank. There is a little mystery involved with this rare backmark. Some think that this button could have been made in America, rather than in England. Steele & Johnson (Waterbury, CT), sometimes incorporated the word “LONDON” into their backmarks to imply British quality rather than actual geographic location. But stated in McGuinn & Bazelon, it is thought that the button is indeed British, and the “J” in the backmark stands for “Jennens”. This would open it up for the possibility of being purchased by the Confederacy.
The verbal history of this button is that it came off of a Confederate officer’s coat in the Hampton, Virginia area. The coat was found with several buttons remaining…..this being one of those buttons. However, I cannot substantiate this, but pass it along as a point of interest. This is truly a great piece and the backmark is extremely rare, so take advantage to add a rare button to your Civil War collection.
Manufacturer: N/A
SKU: 07043
