BigCypressHunter wrote:
> What if the WVA pin doesnt have the UR clamshell? Would we be back to square 1?
While you were absent, way back on Sept. 15th, in my Reply #224 I showed that the W VA pin has the Knights of Pythias symbol in the exact same spot that Bill_S's pin has it. Also, both his pin and the WVA pin have the (UR) clamshell on the swords' crossguard.
> Allan says ... "Possible African American Uniform Rank Pin"
> Bob says .... "Possible Youth or Convention Souvenir Pin"
> Could you guys sum up the past 2 pages in one paragraph for the mentally handicapped like myself?
> I got lost after the UR clamshell logo was solved.
Well... summarizing everybody's posts would be a lot of labor. (And, I wouldn't want to run the risk of misinterpreting anything they said.) So, here's a summary of my own posts in this discussion, or at least, the ones during the past 9 days. (I've added some new comments in places, particularly at the end of this post.)
Also way back on Sept. 15th, in my Reply #227, I said:
"Based on that, and the W Va pin, and the Missouri KoP-UR listings, I now lean toward thinking the missing letter on Bill_S's pin was an M ...being MO above the swords, and C below the swords ...representing "Negro" KoP-UR Missouri unit Company C ...located in Mound City, MO."
"Or perhaps, Missouri ["Negro'] KoP-UR cavalry troop C. I noticed that there is a troop A is in the Missouri ["Negro"] KoP-UR listings."
In my Sept. 17th reply (#280), writing in response to SodaBottleBob's question about the numbers on KoP-UR hat insignia, I said "the KoP Uniformed Rank organization imitated the American Military's terminology." The KoP-UR's crossed-swords pin and crossed-rifles pin are a mimic (a non-exact imitation) of the US Army's insignia pins at that specific time-period in history (1880s-to-1920s). Just like on the US Army (and National Guard) insignia-pins, the letters above and below the crossed weapons are a State's abbreviation, or a Company letter, and the numbers are a Regiment number.
In the paragraph above, I said "The KoP-UR's crossed-swords pin and crossed-rifles pin are a mimic (a non-exact imitation) of the US Army's insignia pins." Here's the explanation of "mimic":
1- At the time that BILL_S's pin and the WVA pin were manufactured, the US Army's insignia for cavalry was crossed sabers (whose blades are curved, and have a large C-shaped handguard). The KoP-UR's "mimic" insignia for its Cavalry units was crossed-longswords (straight-bladed).
2- At that time, the US Army's insignia for Infantry was croosed MUSKETS (muzzle-loading rifles with a large trigger-guard and a large external hammer at the rear of the barrel). The KoP-UR's "mimic" insignia for its Infantry units was crossed Springfield .30-06 rifles (breechloading rifles with no external hammer).
Sidenote: The Springfield .30-06 was the US Model-1903 Army rifle. So, the KoP-UR insignia showing that rifle cannot date back before 1903.
In my Sept. 19th reply (#305), I said "I said I think that due to the pin's apparent extreme rarity, it may be from the African-American ("Negro") Knights of Pythias Uniformed Rank organization -- which late-1800s/early-1900s historical documents show as having many local units in Missouri, where this pin was excavated."
In reading the KoP-UR's official Regulations, I came across a rule that members were required to purchase the organization's insignia at their own (personal) expense, rather than deplete the organization's Treasury by making the organization supply the insignia to members for free.
The "Negro" KoP-UR was of course much smaller, and POORER, than its Caucasian (white) counterpart organization. So, the personal-purchase rule created a serious problem for the "Negro" KoP-UR's membership. I can tell you from personal experience that getting a Manufacturer to produce a "custom-made" item for you is extremely expensive. Creating a mold or a metal-stamping die for producing an insignia which nobody but your little group will want to buy is going to cost you a chunk of money. It could be said that the very first one of your custom-made insignia pins to come out of the mold (or machine) will cost you $1,000 (in today's dollars, not 1910-era dollars). The next 99 or 999 cost you about $2 each, because the big expense was paying for the custom-made mold (or metal-stamping die) to be crafted. Therefore, only a few "Negro" KoP-UR units could come up with that much cash to convince a Manufacturer (such as the N.S. Meyer Company) to produce the unit's "mimic" of a US Army insignia.
I believe that is a plausible explanation for the radically extreme rarity of these "Negro" KoP-UR "mimics" of US Army insignia.
Furthermore, the "original" official Regulations of the KoP-UR stated that their insignia were to be silver (or at least, silver-plated.). That, of course, adds significantly to the insignia's cost. Note that Bill_S's crossed-longswords pin is silver-plated. Thus, I suspect that the WVA pin is also silverplated ...but appears dark because it has not been cleaned. I can only assume that by 1905, when the KoP-UR crossed Springfiled Rifles pin was made, the Regulations had been relaxed to permit non-silver insignia.
Also (as I think I mentioned in a previous post), note that in addition to being silver-plated, Bill_S's pin is a solid-cast brass insignia ...significantly more costly to manufacture than the WVA pin, which is an inexpensively-produced thin stamped-brass-sheetmetal object. Clearly, that WVA "Negro" KoP-UR unit was trying to save its members some money on the production-cost of the insignia.
Then, at some point of time, apparently in the early-1900s, costs for KoP-UR members were further reduced, by permitting the use of cheap stamped-brass non-silverplated insignia.