ULTRA RARE CIVIL WAR PERIOD CONFEDERATE NAVY “SHIP” BUTTON “SHIP” BUTTON.

02-17809

This button is arguably the rarest of all non-excavated Confederate buttons.

It is the official type and style of Confederate Navy button approved by the Confederate Government. Other Confederate Navy buttons of the anchor and crossed cannon design were more popular but considered unofficial. The E.M. Lewis ship button, of similar design, is very rare but both non-excavated and excavated examples exist in reasonably significant numbers. This example is believed to have been made by C. Royer of New Orleans very early in the war. It is thought that there are fewer than 5 non-excavated examples in existence and this is likely the finest of all known examples. Albert refers to this button as CS-67-A and Tice numbers it CSN-268-A1. This locally produced Confederate button features a 3 masted sailing ship on the front sailing in rough seas. The letters, “CSN” are on the waves below the ship. The scene is surrounded by 13 five pointed stars and a well articulated rope border. The reverse has a blank depressed channel and a full straight brass shank.

A singular opportunity for the discerning buyer to obtain what may well be the finest example of the rarest Confederate button.