Army signal corps medal

[Joker]

Hi Pappy, I found this Army signal corps medal and I havent been able to date it. Do you think you can help? thanks!

[schoser]

Take it some flowers and whisper sweet-nothing's in it's ear... JK, man. a nice find for sure though...hope you get it pinned down.

[EBCIII]

Congrats on that Joker! I really like it, Beale.

[Buster]

Have not the clue on its age..I am sure Pappy will know about it...Cool find none the less..Buster.......

[BukkDigger]

I wish I could find some stuff like that..
Where did you find it??????

[bdahunter]

It appears that you have a WWI U.S. Army Signal Corps Insignia.
The current insignia is highly polished and round.
The WWII insignia was just the flags and the torch.(not round)
The WWI insignia is brass, round with a raised edge and dimpled background, the flags and the torch are in the foreground. I couldn't find a picture of the WWI signal corps insignia but I posted a pic of another service and a list of all the various insignia to give you an idea.

[Joker]

Wow thats some great research bda! thank you..

I was looking for some chart like that and wala, there it is! WW1 very kewl.

So it looks like he would of worn it on his collar.. How kewl, thanks!

I found it in a school yard, the original school goes back to 1876..

Here is a pic I found that shows the medal on the collar of a vintage WW1 uniform just like you found BDA!

Im happy about this find because I told the director of schools for this city that I would like to donate some historical item if I found it to his schools. This I think will do the trick.. kewl

[Patriot]

As a militaria collector, I can tell you exactly what that is. It's an enlisted man's collar disc for the U.S. Signal Corps. These were worn on the M1912 Service coat from before WWI, until 1928.

During WWI, enlisted men (Private through Sgt) wore a circular brass disc on the collar, with the Army branch insignia affixed to the center of the disc. (Infantry = Crossed Rifled, Artillery = Crossed Cannons, Air Service = Winged Propeller, Signal Corps = Crossed Semiphore Flags, etc.) Originally, these devices consisted on a bronze disc, a screw post, and a nut. Officers wore a similar device, except that they wore only a pinned branch insignia on the collar, with no circular disc. These were originally manuactured with a blackened finish to them, to prevent metallic glare in the trenches - a good way to get yourself killed.

These remained in service until 1928, when the pattern was changed slightly. These were no longer used on a service uniform (Something you'd wear in combat), but rather dress uniforms. While retaining the same basic design, they were made of polised brass, for aesthetic reasons. Officer Signal Corps devices remained the same as in WWI, except that the Signal Corps device featured colored enamel faces, and as with the M1912 officer pattern, no disc. This design continued through WWII.

The Signal Corps was a branch of the United States Army, and has been in existance since the Civil War. They have been in charge of military communication both at the front, and in peace time. During the Civil War, the Semiphore Flag (As depicted on their branch insignia) was used to send coded signals to distant troops. By WWI, most of these signals were sent either by bi-plane, ballon or radio. They were also responsible for Carrier Pigeons!

I have just gotten started with metal detecting, and I would love to find something like that! Though it is only worth perhaps $2 in that condition (It's a common disc), it is still a historic find, and it just makes you wonder as to how, and why it wound up in the soil!

I am always willing to help people with their military finds, so please feel free to message me with questions, or links to a thread here on the forum. I may not always find the thread on my own. I'd love to see a military section here on the forum!

Take care,

Chris

Originally Posted by Joker

Wow thats some great research bda! thank you..

I was looking for some chart like that and wala, there it is! WW1 very kewl.

So it looks like he would of worn it on his collar.. How kewl, thanks!

I found it in a school yard, the original school goes back to 1876..

Here is a pic I found that shows the medal on the collar of a vintage WW1 uniform just like you found BDA!

Im happy about this find because I told the director of schools for this city that I would like to donate some historical item if I found it to his schools. This I think will do the trick.. kewl

[Joker]

Chris, first of all welcome to TQ!

Thanks you for all the info youve shared with me about my find..

It is a great historical item that I will be donating to the school in which I found it. But ive truly enjoyed holding that history in my hands..

thanks again.

[EPC Guy]

Great find, Joker - and a very kind gesture on your part to donate it to the school...you're a credit to our group and to MD'ing!