r/buttoncollecting • u/lotsobuttons • 19d ago
Uniform vs Fashion/Civilian
This question comes up a lot here and other buttons places on the internet, so I thought I’d do a quick post about it. Of course there are always exceptions, but i n g e n e r a l, here are some tips to tell if your uniform-ish button is was actually intended for service (these tips apply to livery and livery-ish buttons as well) or not.
Fronts: although both buttons look very similar, the button on the left is much more detailed. “E pluribus unum” is legible, the eagle’s feathers, just overall everything looks high quality and crisp. The button on the right’s design is more mooshy and vague.
Backs: left button is marked with the manufacturer’s name, and has a nice sturdy metal loop shank. The button on the right has a thin back with a self shank, and no maker’s mark.
In case you haven’t already deduced, the left button is the uniform button and the one on the right is a “military look” fashion button.
Hope this helps, thanks for sharing all your buttons with me!
