This is an original Confederate artillery coat button. This is the fanciest version of "A" button that was produced during the Civil War. It is known to the collectors as the Manuscript Artillery. The face of the button has the intricate and ornate lined "A" with the smooth background. Most of these buttons never had gilding like this one but the detail is very clear as you can see in the pictures. It has the crack on the face but still displays well. This button is priced at a fraction of what it would cost without the crack. On the back of the button it has the retailer mark of the Montgomery, Alabama firm of Halfmann & Taylor. The original shank is intact. They imported many quality items such as this button from Europe to sell to the wealthy Confederate soldiers. The button would have been actually made in
England by the firm of Smith, Kemp & Wright. This is the version listed as CS105A1 in Albert's button book and CSA212A2 in Tice's button book. This button is a great item that any collector would appreciate.