Unknown Object

ASUtodd

Well I came across this object near a stump that I located a civil war musket ball at. This item was about 2 inches deep and seems to be in great shape. It appears to be tin (or some cheap metal maybe even sterling silver, who knows). It looks like a clasp or holder of some sort. It has a shield with a lion along with a crown on the front of it. It is a little over 3/4 of an inch long and 1/2 inch tall. I know it isn't a relic because it says, Made in the USA on one side. Now the place I am hunting belongs to the Kiwanis Club International, and we also hold our Fraternal Order of Police meetings there. I know it isn't anything from our lodge and I have yet to find something from the Kiwanis that it would be. Boyscouts? I don't know. The emblems look European in nature yet this was made in the US. Any ideas? Regardless here are the pics.
Todd

Musky1011

Not B.S.A.

CROCKofCOINS

Western Bolo String Tie or Tie Bar???

Jerry

Zot

My best guess is that the symbols refer to Sweden with the lion being "Göta lejon" and the crown looks swedish as well.

I'll look into it a bit more and try to provide some more details and thoughts on this.

It looks to be gilt base metal? (certainly doesn't look like sterling silver in the pics)

ASUtodd

Yeah the sterling silver was more of a sarcastic statement in regards to my lack fo silver finds! The "band/clasp" does say, "Made in the USA" on it.
Todd

Zot

A lot of stuff gets made in the US... doesn't mean that the symbols on it refer to the US..
I stick to Sweden as by hunch as that's where I think these two symbols best fit together

Example: This would be Göta hovrätt in (court in southern Sweden) where you can see the Göta lion

ASUtodd

Does look similar. Just wonder why this would be at a Kiwanis/YMCA youth camp here in North Carolina? I have looked at the imagery for the Kiwanis club and I don't find anything that fits them..... quite the mystery here. Everyone, who sees the pic, says it is a neckerchief holder. It isn't wide enough for that. Its only 3/4 of an inch long, 1/2 inch tall, and then maybe a 1/4 of an inch (at most) thick. I'll add this to the pile of, "What the heck are these".
Todd

ASUtodd

In looking at Lion/Crest pictures online it also looks like the lions from Scotland. The crown, in comparing it to the types of crowns, is a Imperial Crown. Hrmm.... the plot thickens.
Todd

Zot

Damn... these lions and crowns... it would have been nice if it had some less common symbols on it...

You may well be right about Scotland. The lion looks like it does not have a crown - while the Göta lion usually has one..
The crown shape indeed looks like a British Imperial crown. Not sure how conclusive that is, as you find a very similar looking crown if you search for e.g. the crown of Denmark as well...
The sweden crown is a different shape. I guess I didn't look at the pictures too carefully

I think Scotland may well be correct.

I will shut up now and await what others chime in with...

Edited to add: this is a really cool object by the way. Certainly beats a fairly modern silver coin several times over in my book.

lordmarcovan

Hmm. Interesting.

I would say it is almost certainly 20th century. I would have imagined Jerry closest to the truth with his "Western Bolo String Tie or Tie Bar" guess. I knew it wasn't really "Western", per se, but it does appear to have been a sliding ornament of some sort, probably related to clothing.

If it is intended to be Scottish-flavored (though made in the USA), I would guess it is part of some highland dress setup. I dunno about your part of NC, but where I was in the mountains, highland stuff was all the rage and we had lots of pipe bands and so forth.

I think it might be part of a highland dress uniform, maybe. It being found near a fraternal/club sort of place kind of fits. Maybe they've had a piper and/or highland pipe and drum band marching around out there.

I found a Rev War era 71st Regiment of Foot (Fraser's Highlander's) button on a site where I had dug a lot of buttons. Weird thing is, this one turned out to be a modern pewter reproduction. (It HAD been awfully shallow). I couldn't figure out what a repro highlander button was doing on a site where I had found a number of authentic early militaria (including lots of CW Minie bullets and eagle buttons and my War of 1812 US Light Dragoons beltplate). Then I thought about it, and I remembered reading about how there had been a reenactment of the Battle of Bloody Marsh on the island, back in 1992 (but not at the site where I found the button). One of the reenactors must have been on my site, in 18th century highlander uniform, and lost a button.