"Mr B., heraldic chaser, says there are several processes in making heraldy plates, sketching, engraving, embossing, chasing and burnishing.""H. & C., manufacturers of cloth and gilt buttons, say it requires some weeks to learn to chase the gilt buttons, which are done with small metal tools and a hammer. Chasers are paid by the piece, working ten hours a day, and some can earn $1 a day."
1863, Virginia Penny, The Employments of Women: A Cyclopaedia of Woman's Work, page 100