I have a large amount of buttons that was purchased at an auction. some are obviously from the 70s, a few 80s, but some appear to be quite old. There are gorgeous mother of pearl ones as small as 1/4" to as big as 1 1/2"!!, and lots of other various materials. There is a whole baggie of tiny little ones (less then 1/4" larger then 1/8" that are like a black metal, with a tiny metal shank. Some even appear to be soapstone! I'm wondering if there is a way to tell how old they may be? And at what point do I say "hey, this might be valuable, and I shouldn't attach it to some random craft." I know some old buttons can sell for quite a bit of money individually. I don't want to have one and randomly glue it to something! lol
Also, any ideas how to safely clean them? With such a huge variety of materials I am second guessing ever idea I have!