Name/Title
Spanish Officer [Button]Description
Mid to late 1600s Spanish military doublet button, hand cast, has a slight concave reverse with thin, beveled edges, is made of copper alloy, and has an integral shank with drilled eyelet.Context
This button was recovered St. Augustine, similar to the wreck sites of the Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe and El Conde de Tolosa of the Quicksilver Fleet, which sank en route from Spain to Mexico on 24 August 1724 off Hispaniola (now the Dominican Repubic) with a cargo of 400 tons of liquid mercury. This military uniform button represents a drilled shanked variant of the "frying pan" shaped types used by Spanish land and marine forces from the late 1600s through much of the 18th century. These lost wax cast buttons have flat faces, beveled edges, and recessed backs. They are here classified as members of the Guadalupe type.