Identification button used by Thomas Porter II

Source catalog description

This description refers to material held by Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture. Visual details below describe the original material.

A round copper-alloy button with the initials "T*P" on the front. This button would have been sewn onto an enslaved person's shirt to identify him or her as belonging to Thomas Porter II. There is an inscription on the reverse of the button in two concentric circles that reads, "FINE ORANGE STANDARD GILT." There is a considerable amount of verdigris on both sides of the button.

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