Dating Buttons

The National Button Society has categorized buttons that were made before 1918 ‘Division One’. This is done for education and competition purposes. A competition award would be written, for example, ‘Division One Glass’ along with the criteria for the type of glass. For those that compete, every button on that tray, or competition card must be pre-1918. If there is a button on that tray that was made after 1918, that tray would be disqualified from competition.

On Silver Street, the buttons are categorized as New, Vintage, and Antique.

I have been buying, selling, and collecting buttons for over 25 years. My collection is not vast, although I consider my knowledge of identifying and dating buttons to be. My passion is Division 1 Glass and I do have some that I cannot part with. Buying and selling hundreds of thousands of buttons (probably over a million) over the past 2 decades has allowed me to own an incredibly diverse and vast collection even though I may only hold onto them for a short while.

Every button that enters my home is cherished, even if their stay is brief. I have been in a judging room, but I have not competed. My reason for dating buttons on Silver Street as New, Vintage, and Antique stems from the fact that I never want to be the reason that a collector’s tray is disqualified from competition because I had it listed in the wrong Division. Collector’s spend months, even years perfecting their trays and I strive to not be the reason a button is ‘measled’. I am very happy to answer any questions about each and every button on Silver Street including my extensive knowledge of Divisions for competition.

With that being said, dating buttons that are listed on Silver Street are as follows.

• Antique: Over 100 years old. Buttons made before 1925, give or take a few

• Vintage: Most in this category are from the 1930’s and on

• New: Brand Spanking New, made within the past several years or so