''Button, button, who's got the button?" might be a children's game, but it also could be the motto of the Keystone Button Club of Western Pennsylvania.

The organization has more than 50 members and meets once a month at The Lighthouse Foundation in Valencia to display, sell and learn about buttons.

Club President Gina Fischer, of New Kensington, has been collecting buttons for only a few years, but the club has been around since 1947, although it was inactive for a few years.

"It was reinstituted in 1963, which is the year I was born, so it is appropriate that I am president," she said jokingly.

Like many other items that people collect, buttons are prized for the materials they are made of, their rarity, age, condition and where they were made.

"An attractive thing about buttons is that they have been made from just about every material that is out there," Mrs. Fischer said. "If it is stable enough, they will use it."

Buttons have been made from bone, glass, brass, silver and plastic. Some of the more intricate ones have been carved from mother of pearl. Collector Faith Strobel, of Winfield, has a button decorated with peacock feathers.

Mrs. Fischer's aunt, Kassie Tutelo, also collects buttons and has one that is made of glass over a silver inlay. She noted that the silver line on the back of the button is a telltale sign that the button was made of silver.

Collecting buttons has some advantages, according to Mrs. Fischer and Mrs. Tutelo. "You can get started for not very much money. And they are small, so they are easy to store and easy to take to competitions," Mrs. Fischer said.

Button collectors can compete locally, at the state level or at the national level, Mrs. Fischer said.

"One of the fascinating things about button collecting is that your collection is never complete," Mrs. Tutelo said. "There is always something different, something to add."

Her own collection numbers in the thousands, although she doesn't know exactly how many buttons she has.

Mrs. Fischer's mother, Maxine Tutelo, also is a button collector. "I just got a couple, then before you know it, you have a lot," she said.

Mrs. Strobel has thousands and thousands of buttons.

"Oh, I really don't know how many I have, but I have them displayed and stored everywhere," she said.

Mrs. Strobel used to be a silversmith and now uses those skills to make buttons, usually out of brass. She sells them at local shows, through dealers and on eBay. "This one would go for about $45," she said of a button with two chicks on it.

Like the size of the collections, the value of the collections varies. "Some members have collections worth thousands of dollars," Mrs. Fischer said.

In addition to the information provided at the monthly meetings, resources also are available to learn more about buttons and their values.

"We have a library for our members," Mrs. Fischer said. "We also share tips on collecting, such as how to store buttons."

Many collectors store their buttons by attaching them to cardboard with wire.

Mrs. Tutelo notes that pipe cleaners should not be used to attach the buttons. ""Pipe cleaners will rust and can mark your buttons."

Mrs. Fischer said she recently read that button collecting ranks No. 3 in collecting hobbies.

"I was recently reading Button Bytes, which is a online newsletter for button collectors, and they said that coin collecting is first, then stamp collecting," she said. "I was really surprised to learn that we have gotten to be No. 3."

The Keystone Button Club encompasses the Greater Pittsburgh area but occasionally has collectors who come from as far away as Ohio and West Virginia, and regulars who drive two hours from the Conneaut area.

"We are a very active club, so we have people who come from areas where their clubs don't meet or don't exist anymore," Mrs. Fischer said.

The local members are excited about the state convention that will be held next May in the Pittsburgh area.

"It has been years and years since it was held in this part of the state. We think it is great and already people from Ohio are talking about coming," she said.

For more information about the Keystone Button Club, visit www.keystonebuttonclub.org or call Gina Fischer at 724-335-2435. Monthly meetings are held at 11:30 a.m. on the fourth Saturday of every month at The Lighthouse Foundation in Valencia.