Wifes find beats mine - need pin/button ID

[Patrol]

While I was on the beach turning up bottle caps, pulltabs and beer cans, my wife was at an estate auction finding real treasure. She purchased a very old treadle sewing machine with all the attachments, doodads, instruction manual and some old buttons.

To me the machine is a big ugly thing but one of the buttons (actually pin) caught my eye. It is a lacquered copper screw pin with the torch of liberty on it with rays being emitted. Since it came from a antebellum home, I thought perhaps it had a civil war significance. There is no writing or letters on it and its in excellent condition.

Any ideas?

 

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[Alchemy]

Neat finds, good for her!
To me it looks more like an antique olympics pin, could be very early 1900's somewhere in there?

Wish I were in an area where I could go estate shopping, everything is way too spred out here and no auctions to be found anywhere

 

[dugupfinds]

Neat finds, good for her!
To me it looks more like an antique olympics pin, could be very early 1900's somewhere in there?

That's what I thought.

 

[nhbenz]

Its a collar disc from the US Army Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC). WWII or earlier... I think this pattern was first used around 1923.

 

[Montana Jim]

nhbenz is right... and it is still used today... it's the "torch of knowledge" for cadets.

 

[Patrol]

Thanks Guys!,

Found out the treadle sewing machine was a Sears brand from 1914, not older as I thought and the pin was not that old either. Thanks for all your input.

TE