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Uranium Glass Buttons

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Buttons439 of 533Antique Bohemian Buttons on My CardsFour enameled Victorian buttons
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    Posted 12 years ago

    antiquariu…
    (136 items)

    In the most delicious shade of soft torquoise.....6 round Bohemian uranium glass buttons circa 1910. They are beautiful to look at, wonderful to hold, and when you put a black light to them, man do they glow! I have a very large collection of antique Bohemian glass buttons from this time period. Many of them are art deco in style. The colours are wonderful and bright. They are new old stock from factories that closed in the 1920s but that were not until recently cleared up. But these are my favs. They are 1 1/4 inch in diameter. They have a "swirl" that just fits the thumb and makes you want to run your thumb around and around them. They do not have a scratch on them. I got them a few of years ago when I was traveling there for work. I made these little cards to show off my uranium buttons using an art deco image from the cover of a 1920s French fashion magazine. It's a little later than the probably age of manufacture of the buttons, but I think it suits them anyhow. I think they are very art deco, so I have categorized them there, along with under art glass. I could not figure out where uranium glass belongs - comment if you can help me there please! Hope you enjoy them!

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    Comments

    1. miKKoChristmas11 miKKoChristmas11, 12 years ago
      Most surprising!! : o And quite delightful!!! : D
    2. antiquarius123 antiquarius123, 12 years ago
      Who says I don't have the light? For your info, I have worked in science for many years and so have access to all kinds of neat diagnostic toys! How about a light with a modulating wavelength? Much better than a black light......
    3. antiquarius123 antiquarius123, 12 years ago
      And there are other diagnostics for uranium.....I have always found uranium glass to be very interesting, or should I say scintillating.....
    4. vetraio50 vetraio50, 12 years ago
      A set of six, two cards in that condition?
      These are really lovely. Do you have more?
    5. Greatsnowyowl Greatsnowyowl, 12 years ago
      ohhhohhHHH you have fun toys! I just got a Geiger counter. I am going to go play in an antique store looking for fiesta red.
    6. antiquarius123 antiquarius123, 12 years ago
      vetraio50 - I have hundreds of beautiful bohemian glass buttons in pristine condition but alas these are the only ones that turned out to be uranium glass. They were just among the lots of buttons I bought over there and I did not even bother to check them for some time........but then......aha! So six it is. I'll try to post some of my other buttons so you can see - some are truly gorgeous and I have had fun making the little cards for them.
    7. antiquarius123 antiquarius123, 12 years ago
      Good stuff Greatsnowyowl - you never know what you might find. The earlier pieces have easily detectable levels.....However, I think you may be surprised to find out what and where you find positive responses. Radioactivity is ubiquitous - most people do not realize this.
    8. antiquarius123 antiquarius123, 12 years ago
      vetraio50 - the buttons on the cards are being prepared for this season. If you are interested in the buttons, then please contact me via our website and we can talk!!
    9. Greatsnowyowl Greatsnowyowl, 12 years ago
      There are other chemicals that can cause a glow with blacklight. not all that glows is radioactive.

      uranium glass that is cased is fun. you get basically a normal reading from the outside but if you hold it up to the inner rim boom. dangerous readings. It's because the majority of radiation from these sources is beta which is easily blocked by glass.
    10. antiquarius123 antiquarius123, 12 years ago
      You are quite right Greatsnowyowl - not all that glows is radioactive and some true uranium glass with detectable uranium will not emit radioactivity. I was talking more about things like the basic furniture and appliances in your home - if you have a good geiger with sensitivity, you will be able to detect radioactivity without leaving the comfort of your home. There are many basic elements that went into making antique glass that will "glow" when exposed to different wavelengths of light.
    11. antiquarius123 antiquarius123, 12 years ago
      Valentino97 - I regret to inform you that you are stuck with the black light, but as pointed out by GreatSnowyOwl - not all that glows is uranium so this is not a guaranteed method. There are other components that are in the sand that winds up in glass that will also glow under black light. Gives you a place to start anyway!:-)
    12. Greatsnowyowl Greatsnowyowl, 12 years ago
      uranium glass will glow bright day glo green. Faint green (even if it looks bright on the edges or in certain areas is from magnesium. other colors that you see in the glow, orange, pink, purple are from different chemicals and not radioactive.

      But there are other things that can make the bright dayglo green as well. sometimes you know the kind of glass is most likely radioactive and from there the blacklight is a good back up of something we already know. If it's not a kind of glass you expect to be uranium infused you might use a little more caution in attributing radioactivity to the piece without having some sort of tool that measures it more precisely.
    13. sckincaid, 5 years ago
      How might I use this article as a reference and can I use the image of the trade card of uranium glass buttons. Whom do I get permission from??

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