37th Foot, The North Hampshire Regiment, 1855-81, silver plated 25mm

37th Foot,The North Hampshire Regiment, a 25mm button of the pattern worn by officers between 1855 and 1881, when it became the 1st  Bn. The Royal Hampshire Regiment. The button has the backmark WILLIAM JONES & Co. 236 REGENT ST. LONDON but, most unusually, this example is silver plated with just a little of the underlying copper bleeding through. A few numbered buttons in silver plate do appear occasionally but there seems to be no very certain idea about their origin. A knowledgeable collector suggested they were perhaps worn by bandmasters, which makes some sense as he holds a unique position. Volunteer battalions began to wear silver plated buttons but not until the end of the century when patterns had changed. aug3/1