Military Insignia - Crossed Rifles - What Era?

Erik in NJ · Aug 14, 2015

I am not used to digging military items. This came up in the nickel range and I was a bit surprised when I saw it. This piece of property goes back to Colonial times though of course there are drops up to modern times.

I'm sure someone here knows what this is. Dimensions are approx 1-1/4" x 3/4". Thanks.

RJ55 · Aug 14, 2015

Don't know what era, but that's a heck of a find.

Erik in NJ · Aug 14, 2015

RJ55 said:
Don't know what era, but that's a heck of a find.

Thanks brother--There is some patina/crust that chipped off of the end of one of the rifles so it appears that it's not modern, but I have no idea what the insignia is or what time frame it is from. No digging many military items, it was a very nice surprise.

1goodflake · Aug 14, 2015

This is the insignia for an Infantry Officers lapel, trust me I know :icon_salut:

Its a bit too corroded for me to give an age but crossed rifles have been the mainstay for infantryman since the beginning. Crossed pistols are military police, crossed arrows are SF, ectc.

sutphin · Aug 14, 2015

NICE ONE THERE ERIK.

Loco-Digger · Aug 14, 2015

Cool Infantry find Eric. :hello2:

OBN · Aug 14, 2015

Nice find! If that was me digging those I would have broke them for sure...Good recovery.. :icon_thumleft:

hbeaton · Aug 14, 2015

It's WW2 I believe. The rifles are percussion cap (I know it predates that particular war but they still used the design) so the "gap" indicates the hammer is pulled back.

Kinda like this...

Erik in NJ · Aug 14, 2015

Thank you for the ID. The woman who owns the property I detected on was very gracious to me. She's probably around 90 years old and her late husband served in WW II and her two sons also served after that. Based on your ID as a relatively recent insignia I will offer to return it to her for posterity. :thumbsup: