Whether you are a serious collector of antique military buttons, specifically civil war buttons, or a novice, it is never a bad idea to invest in a few quality reference manuals and collector’s guides to broaden your scope of knowledge and expand your interest.  Civil war buttons are a popular niche for antique buttons collectors, which is why there are several excellent reference guides available specifically devoted to civil war buttons.

According to Daniel J. Binder’s article, “Recommended Books for Civil War Button Collectors,” there are two books that are absolute must haves for any serious collector of civil war buttons.

The first text on the list is “Uniform Buttons of the United States 1776-1865” by Warren K. Tice, published in 1998 by Thomas Publications.  Binder recommends this book as “the best and most exhaustive” reference source for collectors of civil war buttons.  It thoroughly covers styles of civil war buttons, but it also covers the company histories of civil war buttons manufacturers, the techniques used by these manufacturers, varieties of dye used during manufacturing and other interesting facts that will add to the knowledge base for any new or seasoned collector. 

Additionally, the book also covers the regiments and units tied to certain civil war buttons.  Warren K. Tice has packed his book with illustrations and photographs of button faces, backmarks, shanks and engravings.  Also included in the book is a series of period military photographs to give the collector some context of how the civil war buttons actually appeared on uniforms and so on. 

Tice also provides a newly devised updated alphanumeric reference system for collectors of civil war buttons.  For a new collector, this can be an invaluable resource.  He also provides a price guide, however the book was first published in 1998, so it may be somewhat out of date with regard to current market values in 2005.  It would be worth looking at updated editions or a more recent price guide to reflect current market values of your civil war buttons.

A second solid reference for collectors of civil war buttons, according to Binder, is Alphaeus H. Albert’s “Record of American Uniform and Historical Buttons (Bicentennial Edition),” published by Boyertown Publishing Company.  This text is considered “the bible” by collectors specializing in military button collecting.  Albert’s book deals with a variety of topics, including all types of American uniform buttons.  This volume covers civil war buttons and beyond.  It also serves as the original source of the alphanumeric button referencing system that has since been widely adopted by collectors of military buttons.

Finally, Binder himself has also published a companion guide to Albert’s text which specializes in civil war buttons.  “Civil War Collector’s Guide to Albert’s Button Book” was published in 1993 by Publisher’s Press.  The book aims to help collectors specializing in Civil War buttons to better navigate Albert’s original book, as Binder notes that collectors who specialize in Civil War buttons can end up lost and confused in the sheer volume of material, which extends far beyond buttons of the Civil War.