Badge-Like Thingy

[mlw67]

Hi!

I found this badge-like thingy and I have not seen anything like it before. It has to date earlier than 1955 since it has been under pavement since then.

Does anyone know what it is?

Thanks for looking!

[IronSpike]

I agree with badge looking and pin attachment. Any markings at all?

The pin may have been used as hinge and maybe it's a lid?

[creskol]

I agree with badge looking and pin attachment. Any markings at all?

The pin may have been used as hinge and maybe it's a lid?

I agree that it is a lid to something, and the pointed tabs look like they are meant to dig into something to keep it from rotating. Wonder if it could be gas meter cover or something of that nature. Neat find!

[IronSpike]

It looks like holes in the 4 tabs near hinge area. Were small rounded metal pieces used to secure around pin on container/box?

[IronSpike]

Could also be a small buckle.

[creskol]

Could also be a small buckle.

This piece appears to be chrome plated, so I don't know if this info will help in dating it or not, but here it is anyway.
The practice of metal "plating" has been around for centuries. Gilding, as it was originally called, was developed by the Romans. Sheffeld Plate, which is the plating of copper or brass with silver by fusion originated in England during the 18th century. Plating with chromium didn't make it's debut in the US until the mid to late 1800's. However, according to George Dubpernell, in his book published in 1984, "A History of Chromium Plating – Plating & Surface Finishing, chrome plating really didn't become a common practice until its perfection until 1928.

[mlw67]

Thanks for the replies so far!

Hmm I never thought about it being some kind of lid.

I didn't see any markings anywhere on it, but that dirt doesn't want to come off. I'll try scrubbing at it a bit more today to see if I can spot anything I missed and maybe add an angular pic if no one figures it out first.

I'm thinking that star has to be the main clue?

Also, due to other factors at this site I figure it more than likely predates 1929, for whatever that is worth.

Thanks again.

[Kieth-Tx]

Could it have been a medal of some sort. Would explain the hinge top and the cleats on the bottom to attach a ribbon to.

[Monty]

Construction inspector's badge? They are usually more flimsy than a policeman or a deputy or even the Fire Dept. Monty

[mlw67]

Thanks for the continued interest!

I scrubbed it hard with a wire brush and no markings of any kind came to light.

It isn't at all flimsy, it is very solid. It just looks weak because I chipped the bottom of it while digging it out of rock-hard ground.

I took another, more angular photo:

[Tricia]

Kid's toy badge from Lone Ranger series or something like that?

p.s. Nice swirley fingerprints you've got there.

[creskol]

What are the dimensions of this? Dou you know what the base metal is? Thanks

[sniffer]

looks like a toy sheriff's badge that was mounted in a pocket holder

[sniffer]

that badge style was common in the early fifties

[DCMatt]

I don't know about anyone else, but I'm having trouble imagining this item as a badge. And I have a pretty good imagination... How was the pin attached and secured on the back?

I still think this was a hinged lid or a cover off something. In the new pic you can even see that the hinge part is slightly bent, possibly indicating considerable use (opening & closing) of the cover. I also have to wonder about the piece having a religious connection with the Star of David on it.

Was the item found in a residential area? Under a sidewalk? Parking lot? Any Synagogues or significant Jewish population in the area?

DCMatt

[creskol]

I don't know about anyone else, but I'm having trouble imagining this item as a badge. And I have a pretty good imagination... How was the pin attached and secured on the back?

I still think this was a hinged lid or a cover off something. In the new pic you can even see that the hinge part is slightly bent, possibly indicating considerable use (opening & closing) of the cover. I also have to wonder about the piece having a religious connection with the Star of David on it.

Was the item found in a residential area? Under a sidewalk? Parking lot? Any Synagogues or significant Jewish population in the area?

DCMatt

I'm with ya on that score Matt. It is not a wearable badge. It might .. might .. by a long stretch be a bumper badge, but I have my doubts about that as well. I agree that it is probably a lid or flip cover to something.

[get-r-dug]

Could it be a badge/emblem from a policemans hat? Older type 50's era maybe.

[randall61]

looks like a jewish star..just my 2 cents

[Monty]

Seeing it cleaned up makes a world of difference. Now I too see it as a lid to something. The hinge would be a pin across the top so it could swing open. Monty

[mlw67]

Thanks for all the continued interest!

What are the dimensions of this? Dou you know what the base metal is? Thanks

It measures just over 1.5" across. I don't know what the base metal is, but it is very sturdy and not the slightest bit flexible.

Was the item found in a residential area? Under a sidewalk? Parking lot? Any Synagogues or significant Jewish population in the area?

I avoided telling you how I found it because it is a long story and I was prepping to do a complete writeup on the 'today's finds' thread. LOL I'll go ahead and give you a preview:

There is an old school near my house that was built in 1929. They recently decided to put a community garden in the back of the school in an area that had been paved for a long time. I was lucky enough to notice this right as they finished taking out the broken asphalt and the fill that had been placed under the asphalt. I scoured the site with my detector for the two weeks that it was huntable, 1-2 hours a night after everyone had left and before dark. I surmised from what I found that when they went to put in the parking lot they had first removed the top layer of sod that had been there, unfortunately taking most of the coins with it. But I did find some coins, almost all of them dating between 1930 and 1955. But below that was a layer of stuff that certainly did not come from the schoolyard. I surmised that some older houses had been there, and that one or more of them had burnt down, judging from the high degree of charcoal in the soil. The houses surrounding the schoolyard are predominately 100 to 130 years old, and the stuff I was finding in the lower layers at this site fit that time period. The way the finds were scrambled up at different depths in the lower level leads me to believe that before they had put in the schoolyard they had thoroughly bulldozed the site. This particular item was found 8" to 10" down, in that lower layer.

Hmmm...now that I mention bulldozers, I just had a vision. Call me crazy, but this item reminds me of the little flapper cap on top of old heavy equipment exhaust stacks. Do you know what I mean? Were there any heavy equipment manufacturers that used a star emblem?? Or am I way off course?? LOL