I,too, played with my Mother's button tin, like the fruitcakes came in. Still have a couple of her things. I love the feel them in my hands and fingers. When I lived in Xenia, Ohio back in the 70s (where I went to Nursing School), I had a dear friend that collected buttons! I was amazed. She went to button shows! Looking back the quilting shows today remind me of them. There were all kinds of vendors there selling all kinds of buttons. I was fun to have a button you needed a match for and hunt and find it at one of the shows! I started trying to collect pricey ones which could really run up in money. I have my really fine buttons, like silver, copper, blown glass, black glass, closienne, celluloid, steel cut, etc on cards in categories. I also have a trunk full of buttons on cards and I think they are all celluloid. It's in the attic and I haven't looked at it in a long time. My friend said I needed to start selling them because none of my children or DGC want the stuff and wouldn't know the value of them. I know if I died, they would go look in my sewing room and closet and just say,"What was Mom/Grandmother thinking with all this stuff?" LOL!!!