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Early US Marine Button


Cape Hunter
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Hello I'm new here. I love detecting military buttons and related items. Found this button recently here on Cape Cod. It appears to be in pretty good shape compared to other early US Marine buttons on line. Found at a old farm field, but the site with targets was very small. This button was quite deep, well below dark soil in yellow sand. Has 16 stars. I have seen a 13 star and a 15 star button very similar, but the eagle was different and that button has writing on the back. There is no writing on the back of this button. I believe Tice has a 16 star button listed but I do not have the book. Just wondering if it looks similar to this one. Any thoughts would be of great help. Thanks for looking, Bill

button 1.jpg

button 2.jpg

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  • 6 months later...

I looked at Albert's book.  He shows a one piece with 16 five pointed stars.  It's MC5, page 109.  But the ones shown all have backmarks.  From what these old eyes see, I don't see a backmark on yours, but it may be there very light.  Albert indicates those are fairly rare.  

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Cape Hunter

Thanks Duggap,

 

My button is blank on the back. No stamping or info what so ever. I'm guessing for a short time 1792-1796 there were 15 states. The USS Constitution was under construction. Might be possible Boston Marines during that time had 15 star buttons. Boston is a quick day trip by boat from where this button was found. In 1797 Tennessee became the 16th state. Hence new 16 star buttons were ordered and those were stamped on reverse. But after that, I believe they went back to the original 13 star button design knowing that it would be problematic adding more stars to a over crowded button already.  That is the only sense I can make of it. 15 star one seems rarer from what little info I can find. 

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Cape Hunter

Thank you 268th C.A.

 

I Meant to say, This button with 16 stars (I wrote 15 instead above) maybe just maybe might have been on the Constitution when launched. 1797 sixteen stars for sixteen states!

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  • 4 months later...

Tice identifies this button as MC206, made during the 1830's. No wording in the backmark on his example, says backmark is a circle of dots and stars. Yours does appear to have the remnants of a circle on the back.

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Cape Hunter

I guess I could try and clean the back a little more and see what pops up. Button is pretty much as it came out of the ground. 

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