POST MEDIEVAL BUTTON

Silver-plated cast copper alloy button with incised coat of arms of the Duke of Cornwall, consisting of a shield containing 15 circular discs or 'bezants', which supposedly derives from the Byzantine gold coins used to release the Duke of Cornwall from the Saracens during the Crusades. The shield is surrounded by a wreath and below on a banner the motto ONE AND ALL, which has been adopted by Cornwall County Council. There is a soldered attachment loop on the back surrounded by an incised wreath and the back mark PLATED, but there are no makers names. The style of this button and the back suggest that it dates from the 18th to the 19th century, but the recorded cannot find when this motto was first used with the Duchy arms.Bailey (2004) illustrates a similar back to a silver-plated button, with the back mark BEST PLATED and a stamp which looks like the Prince of Wales feathers above an 'S', within a similar wreath, on page 56, Fig.9.129, which is dated to the 18th century.