just to add to the thread on civil war buttons...
 
Here in California I have found numerous militia buttons on isolated Chinese
mining sites in the mountains.  According to one account (I can look up the
source if anyone is interested), after the war these buttons were often sold
in lots or loose.  The ones I've found on Chinese sites have usually been
flattened.  One theory is they were used as gambling tokens.
 
Mary Maniery
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