Brass disk found near old train stop

[Mayo South Elgin]

I found this brass disk not far from where there was an old train stop.
I'm not sure if it's related to the train or a carriage or something totally unrelated.
It measures about 1 3/8 inches across, not as thick as a penny.
Anyone found anything similar?
It was photographed under fluorescent lights, and I tried to edit the photo to get it more true to life but the color isn't quite right - it's like a medium brown color.

 

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[mainer]

Looks like a luggage tag, but I dont know how it would be attached.

 

[Hunthicks]

Possibly a pole marker? I've seen them in every shape and size, made from steel, aluminum, copper and brass.

 

[Monty]

What's the back look like? I have several that look similar that came from the railway where my wife worked. They were used to ID the conductors and crew members much like a badge and had a pinning device on the back. Monty

 

[deepskyal]

I'm with Monty. I've found a couple miners tags that look similar except the miner tags have holes in them for pinning on. About the same size and also brass. The miner tags date to around the late 1800's early 1900's.

Al

http://forum.treasurenet.com/index.php/topic,256659.0.html

 

[Tattooguy67]

Looks like a luggage tag, but I dont know how it would be attached.

Hey there Mainer, if I am remembering right don't most or those have a slot for like a little belt and buckle thing to hold them to the bag? also seems like they usually have the name of the RR on them. As far as pole tags go, don't they all have holes in them for nails? even most tool checks had some kind of hole, to the OP was there anything on the back? maybe even a nub or bump?

Chuck.

 

[Monty]

The badges I mentioned were about the size of a half dollar and had a pin soldered on the back and most of the guys who wore them were trolly conductors. They pinned them on their cap usually. Monty

 

[Mayo South Elgin]

Thanks for the responses everyone.
The back of my disk has nothing on it.
No nubs of broken off pins, no solder, no wording.
There is a very slight bit of rust in two places which may have held a pin/clasp.
The rusty spots are parallel to the numbers, so unless it's a coincidence, the cap pin idea is a possibility.

If it was a pole marker, maybe they came with no hole and you just nailed through it?
This could be an unused one in that case.

If it's a bag tag, I would think it would have a slot through the disk, for a leather strap.
Could it be a matching tag that would have been given to the person who had the bag with the same number? Did they use a two tag system - one for the bag and one for the owner of the bag?

Maybe we'll never know for sure but I like hanging on to these little bits of history...

 

[Hunthicks]

I seen pole markers that were nailed on with square nails, but the holes were likely premade. I'd think it would be a bit tough to drive a nail through a peice of brass, but that doesn't mean they couldn't/didn't.
It could be a token of some sort. Kinda like when you drop your coat off and they give you a little plastic piece with a number on it.

 

[Tnmountains]

Very old style script.

 

[creskol]

I think "deepskyal" is hitting along the right lines. While it may not be a miner's tag ... [but it could well be from a mining operation] ... I do think it is an employee accountability tag. When Employee 716 would report for duty, chip no. 716 was flipped into a pot and/or placed in a slot with a corresponding number.