Botanical Gardens

[Monty]

Went by the botanical gardens this AM and had my detector so I stopped off and hunted for about 30 minutes. I hunted around the oldest sidewalks and found $0.56 in clad, one quarter and the rest pennies. I also found this interesting little pin out in the middle of the lawn all by it's lonesome. At one time it had a pin on the back but it was missing. It is a shield depicting what I think is a railroad track, a tennis net and 5 stars. Across the bottom is scrolled SUPER AGUA ET TERRA. My wife Kay says it's Latin and translates to Super Water and Earth. I have no idea what it represents or what organization it might have been in reference to. At one time it was red and blue, much of the red still showing and just a hint of the blue. It's made of plated potmetal I think, but would have looked nice with all the paint and pin intact. Any ideas? Monty

 

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[trk5capt]

MONTY, Just A Guess, Maybe A Sports Pin For Track, Field & Swimming. trk5capt...

 

[Bavaria Mike]

Nice find Monty! It is a unit crest from the military. What does it say exactly? Maybe I can help ID the unit. I have over 200 of them or more but they are from units stationed in Europe. HH, Mike

 

[Monty]

It says exactly what I posted, nothing more or less. Monty

 

[ClonedSIM]

I think the phrase is Spanish rather then Latin, and the railroad tracks look a lot like the laces on a football.

 

[Nana40]

Well...what ever it is it's a nice find Jim!

And by the way....no bullets for Nana today?

Nana

 

[Monty]

Nana, you're so sneaky, you finally got me! Monty

I'm not sure but I think it would mean the same thing in Spanish as in Latin? "Super water and earth"? I thought it might represent some environmentalist group? Monty

 

[Bavaria Mike]

Gave it a try but couldn't ID it! HH, Mike

 

[allen]

the pin looks like a football pin. bengals or browns from the color. either way its a cool find. keep on digging...

 

[PBK]

Mike's right: it's definitely a military DI (distinctive insignia, or crest). Unfortunately, I can't seem to find a listing for it either, but will keep checking. The motto, Super Aqua et Terra, is Latin and means, "Over Water and Land," so maybe it's from one of the Army Transportation Corps units; however, their heraldic colors are usually brick red and golden yellow.

 

[Monty]

Could apply to the USMC too? Monty

 

[SHERMANVILLE ILLINOIS]

Not Marines.

Still looking.

Think Army Artillery, (because of your location and color), or Engineer (color),
or some type of Transport.

Still looking.

 

[49er]

Nice find Jim

 

[PBK]

Here ya go, Monty!

Fiinally managed to ID the DI that you found: 502nd Engineers, probably WWII period.

 

[SHERMANVILLE ILLINOIS]

PBK,

nice job. I looked and looked.

Did you go to a site for info?
If I may, which one?

have a good un............

 

[Gypsy Heart]

Really Cool Find Monty! And WTG on the ID PBK! Outstanding!

 

[PBK]

PBK,

nice job. I looked and looked.

Did you go to a site for info?
If I may, which one?

have a good un............

You caught me redhanded, Sherm! Actually, my source on this one is a good friend, John Conway, who's a professional militaria researcher and appraiser with Manion's Auctions and specializes in WWI and WWII material. He also tells me it's listed in the American Society of Military Insignia Collector's (ASMIC) D.I. motto catalog, in case someone on the forum happens to have a copy.

(BTW, those of you who are serious militaria collectors may also recognize John's name as one of the coauthors of American Flight Jackets, Airmen and Aircraft: A History of U.S. Flyers' Jackets from World War I to Desert Storm.)

 

[Rmeav8r]

Just a note. The 502nd is still active as the 502nd Engineer Company. The Unit Crest is not the same as the one posted. The 502nd is part of the 130th Engineer Brigade. The link will take you to news on the current 502nd Engineer Company deployed to Iraq.

http://www.130thengineers.army.mil/history/history.htm

 

[PBK]

Just a note. The 502nd is still active as the 502nd Engineer Company. The Unit Crest is not the same as the one posted. The 502nd is part of the 130th Engineer Brigade. The link will take you to news on the current 502nd Engineer Company deployed to Iraq.

http://www.130thengineers.army.mil/history/history.htm

Thanks for the followup, Joe. I guess I should add that the image you posted is, of course, the 130th Engineer Brigade patch, not the DI of the 502nd:

http://www.130thengineers.army.mil/Units/130th/brigadepatch.htm

Unfortunately, the 502nd portion of the 130th website is still under construction, and their DI does not appear, although those of other units do— e.g., the 54th and 94th Engineer Battalions. However, for those who might be interested, here's some history on the 502nd from the same site:

http://www.130thengineers.army.mil/Units/502nd Eng Com webpage Aug 20 04/history.htm

 

[Monty]

Thanks for the responses. I'll check back on the site in a couple of months and see if they show the plaque somewhere. Makes the find even more interesting.The original building at the site looks much like many of the stone buildings you see around armories that were built by the Corps of Engineers. Monty