Iowa Relic Rookie Needs ID Help

[Dick from IA]

[attachment 23739 MDFindsApril4and506001.jpg]

Hi All:

I've been following the Relics Forum all winter, and now , with thawed ground I can get out and MD again. I've been primarily a coinshooter, but relic hunting is proving to be much more fascinating.

This week I found a pin/button, just 9'16" diameter, with an American Eagle posed on the front. Imprinted on the back is "S & J Waterbury CT". I have learned this is Steele and Johnson Button Co., existing from 1858 till 1920.

So I'm thinking this could be a CW or WWI pin, but not sure. Any help is sure appreciated. This is an excellent forum

Quarter is for size reference only.

 

[John in Florida]

The early ones didn't have a rim. So maybe closer to 1920's?

 

[ThatCannonballGuy]

That specific emblem is known as the "Great Seal of the United States." As John more-or-less said, it was officially adopted in 1902 ...and is not known to have appeared on any insignia-buttons earlier than that. The "Great Seal" emblem is still in use today, on US military buttons, and on the back of Kennedy half dollars.

Regarding a more specific time-period for your item than just 1902-2006...
First, we know that your item's manufacturer (Steele & Johnson) went out of business in 1920.
Second, prior to the 1950s the US Government did not feel it necessary to keep maintaining a "multi-million-man" Army after a war had ended, so in each post-war period the Army's size dropped massively, usually by about 95%.

From 1902 until the advent of World War One, the US Army was quite small - and thus there was no need to order large quantities of new insignia-buttons from button-manufacturers. Therefore I'd guess yours is "most likely" to have been made sometime during the World War One years.

Regards,
TheCannonballGuy

 

[Dick from IA]

Thanks for the tips about the button, John-Fla & CannonBallGuy. That determined exactly what it is, a WWI Military button.

And, yesterday, about 3 feet from where I found this one, I found another one just like it