✅ SOLVED i think i found something good looking for confirmation... and information

[Older The Better]

Found this in a bean field while looking for evidence of any human activity...looks like a military pin to me but on the whole property i haven't found a single thing that is military so I'm cautiously excited maybe it military, maybe its an emblem that has fallen of a tractor or something similarly disappointing. so... what do you guys think? i don't want to risk breaking it in half or even cleaning it if it is something good

 

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[nhbenz]

Looks to be an officer’s collar insignia. 20th century, but hard to tell how early in it’s current state.

 

[TheCannonballGuy]

It is a US armed forces collar-insignia pin. Your third photo seems to show the remnant of a cross-pin's hinge-post, which predates the Ballou clutch-pin attachment form adopted in 1942. So your find dates from the very late 1800s up to early 1942.

After-posting edit:
I see my good friend NHBenz and I were typing our replies at the same time. Mine took longer because I couldn't remember the exact year the clutch-pin attachment form was adopted, and had to go to another website for that info.

 

[A2coins]

I beat both of you but was a Gentleman and let you 2 fire the first posts, Sweet find now you know theres probably more goodies there. Thanks for the great post!!!!!

 

[Older The Better]

Well Damn i knew better but i tried to open it as carefully as i could... had it open and flat but the letters weren't straight tried to bend them back towards each other and pop... oh well i was never going to sell them anyway but it still hurts to do something stupid haha... I'm sure this will help with your id question cannonball guy

 

[A2coins]

I know most of us would have done the same thing nice piece to display

 

[TheCannonballGuy]

Thanks for the back-view photo. It confirms that what I seemed to see in your previous post is indeed the remnant of a cross-pin attachment... and THAT confirms the date-range I gave you in my previous reply (very late 1800s up to early 1942).

 

[Older The Better]

Perfect Cannonballguy and Nhbenz thanks. Last question is it an OFFICERS pin or did everyone have one? i found it on land that has been in our family for over 100 years and as far as i know on that side only my grandpa served and WWII ended while he was in boot camp, so not his... also hard to see why anyone would be wearing a uniform in a field but it got there somehow. I'm going to have to get a family history lesson.

 

[Overseas]

Perfect Cannonballguy and Nhbenz thanks. Last question is it an OFFICERS pin or did everyone have one? i found it on land that has been in our family for over 100 years and as far as i know on that side only my grandpa served and WWII ended while he was in boot camp, so not his... also hard to see why anyone would be wearing a uniform in a field but it got there somehow. I'm going to have to get a family history lesson.

I will never forget being issued a set different than what I was supposed to wear and then getting reamed by "Old Sarge" during an open ranks inspection.

 

[toddbbq]

Appears to be missing a letter or two. Maybe an N

 

[GopherDaGold]

Some would say you broke a cardinal rule but no one can deny how much nicer it looks!