1883 Sacramento Odd Fellows Silver badge !!!! Victorian political button, IH & 1909S!

[Cal_Cobra]

1883 Sacramento Odd Fellows Silver badge !!!! Victorian political button, IH & 1909S!

Still trying to learn the E-trac....Went hunting with a buddie yesterday and targets were sparse, but what we lacked in quantity we made up for in quality.

I didn't get a single silver coin, yet my friend snagged an 1880's seated dime, 2.5 mercs, an IH and a couple of green wheaties.

I ended up with only three old coins - 1937S wheatie, an 1886 Indian and a 1909 "vertical S" wheatie (a key date wheatie)
Try as I may, I don't see the infamous VDB on back of the 1909S.

Also ended up with some nice relics. First is some kind of 1880's political button It says: PUBLIC OFFICE IS A PUBLIC TRUST "84-86" around a horseshoe with initials in the center (CE?). Anyone ever seen one of these?? I'm assuming "84-86" refers to the years 1884-1886, some kind of term or such.

The next find was a nice gold plated (at one time) Victorian ladies pendant:

My best find, was my last find of the day We spotted a little scraped spot on the way back home (where my friend snagged his seated). There was a trench dug out and this was the first target I pulled out. Rang in just like a quarter/half dollar (12-47) but instead came out this silver badge. It was the end of the day and dark when I found it, so I didn't realize what I had until I took a look at it today.

Originally the background of the badge was black enamel, but the enamel started to come off as I was cleaning it under the faucet with a toothbrush When I dried it off and took a look at it, I was amazed at what I had - a beautiful Victorian silver badge that says:

SACRAMENTO V.O.F. 1883

I did a little research on it and didn't find another badge, and haven't quite been able to the "V" but I found this about some of the symbolism on the badge:

"The All-Seeing Eye was not used by Masonry for quite some time and is a relatively recent addition to their symbolism. The Odd Fellows, between them both, were the first to make widespread use of it. The Three Links are exclusive as a fraternal symbol to the IOOF alone and represent the fraternity itself just as the square and compass represent Masonry. "

Anyone have any idea what the "V" of the Odd Fellows represents?

Here's the badge:

Thanks for looking,
Brian

 

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[oldsalty19]

 

[Threshold]

Wow great finds . I hv yet to find an old coin in socal lol

 

[Cal_Cobra]

Thanks, that badges was a real surprise, quite a little piece of history.

 

[lost hunter]

sweet

 

[Cal_Cobra]

Thanks. That badge is going to be tough to beat.

 

[Cal_Cobra]

Anyone have any idea what the "V" of the Odd Fellows represents?

Looks like the "V" is for Veteran

Now to figure out what the date signifies

HH,
Brian

 

[Cool Hand Fluke]

Sack Of Tomatoes (Sacramento) has been hunted to death! Glad to see some good stuff come out of there!

 

[jewelerguy]

that badge is really cool and I'll bet the '09 S was a heart stopper

 

[funkapotamus]

Wow. What a cool find. Just hunted a park in Sac. today, didn't find anything that cool.

 

[Cal_Cobra]

Thanks everyone.

I found some info on the political button (or lapel pin) marked "PUBLIC OFFICE IS A PUBLIC TRUST 84-86 CG".

Turns out it's from the 1884 Presidential campaign of Grover Cleveland. Cleveland was elected Mayor of Buffalo in 1881, with the slogan "Public Office is a Public Trust" as his trademark of office. He continued to use the slogan as he ran for President for the term of 1884-1886.

Bummer it's not in better shape, but still a neat little piece of history saved.

HH,
Brian