How to Identify Antique Buttons
Antique buttons are identified by the materials they are made from. The most unique method collectors use to identify these materials is "the hot pin test." Just as there are unique smells from the cooked foods we eat, so too are there specific, recognizable smells from antique buttons when they are burned slightly. These distinct odors are a surefire way to identify what they are made from and to determine that they are the real deal. However, you might want to use a clothespin on your nose when testing and smelling buttons when using this method.
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Instructions
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1
Separate the buttons to be tested.
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2
Heat the pin under the flame of the candle until the tip of the pin is red hot.
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3
Pick up the button and place the pin on an area where the button will not be damaged by the test, such as on the shank at the back of the button or on the inside of the holes of the button. Allow the button to be singed by the pin, causing it to smoke slightly, emitting an odor.
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Put the button near your nose and breath in a little of the odor, being careful not to burn yourself.
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Refer to a button "odor guide" to determine what the button is made of.
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Tips & Warnings
You will smell burning lacquer or sealing wax with composition buttons. These are the binding materials in these antique buttons.
Burning rubber or sulphur is emitted from rubber buttons made by Goodyear during World War II.
Old horn buttons smell like burning hair, meat smell or burning feathers.
Buttons that smell like burning fish odor, seaweed, or decaying fish are made from tortoise shells.
Sometimes the odor caused by the heat from your hands can be used to identify some antique buttons.
All you need is a little sniff of the odor to determine if the button is an antique material button. Do not breath in toxic fumes in quantity.
Do not dip buttons in hot water to test them. This can damage the inner structure of the button and cause it to break apart.
