The Oldest Dog License Tag I've Ever Seen Dug??

[GavinoGambino]

Went to a "hunted out" spot of mine yesterday to test out my new coil and I got a faint choppy signal, deep. Dug down and pulled out this disk at 9 inches. I was shocked when I realized what I was looking at because I know IVE never seen anyone dig a dog license tag this old before. Plus, this license was issued only 18 years after Minnesota had become a state so this is am oldie for my area. I'm sure people have dug older, but I just love this relic so i thought id share.

The disk is about the size of a half dollar with a dogs head embossed in the middle. Around the outside it has lettering reading: "DOG LICENSE NO. 436 (436 is hand stamped) ST PAUL, MINN" And then below the dogs head, 1876 is hand stamped.

HH,

Gavin

 

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[digger dug]

very nice. well done

 

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[Trezurehunter]

That is one great old Dog License tag. Congrats on a very nice piece.

 

[GopherDaGold]

At 9" deep I have to wonder if it came from a hastily dug grave from way back then.

 

[GavinoGambino]

Very nice score. I've seem some of those 1800's tags fetch a premium, in dug condition.

You're kidding me? Who buys these? How much have you seen them go for?

 

[GavinoGambino]

At 9" deep I have to wonder if it came from a hastily dug grave from way back then.

Thats what some of my co-workers thought when i showed them. I dont think so however because i should have hit bones if that were the case

 

[1320]

You're kidding me? Who buys these? How much have you seen them go for?

Private collectors. If you'd like to sell it, definitely contact member oddcoins in the token forum, he's considered the resident expert.

 

[Brendan75]

Hi, That is a great find. Congrats

 

[against the wind]

I've never seen one older,,
Congratulations

 

[A2coins]

odd coins will trade silver coins for it theres a collector for almost everything

 

[GavinoGambino]

odd coins will trade silver coins for it theres a collector for almost everything

Awesome, thanks man!

 

[GavinoGambino]

So I did some research on this and found some info that makes this find even more cool (in my mind at least).

I contacted the Minnesota Historical Society and the Ramsey County Historical Society to see if they still had the Dog license registration lists from 1876, to see if we could find out what this dogs name was and who owned it. They both came back saying that they did not have those files for 1876. But the MHS did give me a link to the digital archives for St.Paul newspapers and told me i could probably find info searching through them. I searched the term, "Dog License" and the oldest reference of the term they had dated back to 1878 (dang). No quite the exact year i was looking for, but close.

Until i noticed there was 1 hit prior to 1878 and it was from the St. Paul newspaper in 1865: View attachment 1628880 - DOG LICENSES- "The time for procuring dog licenses expired yesterday and less than a dozen have been issued by the city clerk. The city is overrun with dogs, and as a result of this neglect we hope to see a powerful thinning out. Let every unlicensed dog be killed and the city will be relieved of a great nuisance"

Pretty wild, huh?
I found out that 1865 was the first year the city issued dog licenses as a result of complaints from citizens that the large amount of wild dogs were killing many of their sheep, they passed this law forcing dog owners to buy an annual dog license for $5 per individual. All unlicensed dogs were to be killed by any willing citizen with a $.50 reward given for every carcass.

That being said, I looked at the 1878 article that mentioned "dog license" and this is what it said: View attachment 1628883

Haha these guys were not messing around back then. Not surprisingly, 1878 saw about 5,000 licenses issued for that year compared to the less than 12, thirteen years prior. Seems like the people learned pretty quickly that the city meant business

So, this dog tag i found definitely belonged to an owner who cared about their dog and did not want to see it killed for a bounty.

I love this hobby!

HH

-Gavin

 

[A2coins]

thats really cool yeah I love this hobby too

 

[RelicMaster777]

One very Cool Find, Cool year, Cool looking Dog on it. Man they were getting into peoples pockets even then to pay for a license.

 

[Truth]

That is one I’d cherish!! I’ve never seen one older and in such beautiful shape too. Congratulations my friend

 

[BLK HOLE]

What a sweet find, I love those old dog tags, congratulations

 

[Cool Hand Fluke]

That's the oldest one I've seen so far. You have a real good find there! There is a guy who wrote a published book on dog tag collecting, his name is Bill Bone. A couple of years ago I dug up a S.F. 1881 dog tag out of a San Francisco park.

I got into contact with the guy who wrote the book and he offered me $250.00 for my 1881 dog tag. So you have a real collectible item there. I believe the oldest US dog tag known to exist comes from the early 1870's. Nice Find!

 

[ecmo]

Truly a neat find and the detail is amazing. Congratulations.