Civil War Pewter ID Disc

Isaac

Hero Member
Oct 11, 2013
773
1,335
Fairfax, Virginia
🥇 Banner finds
3
Detector(s) used
Whites MXT All Pro, Garrett AT Pro
Primary Interest:
Relic Hunting
Today's hunt was pretty unbelievable. Seth Edwards (Pennsylvania Treasures) came down on the train and we went Civil War relic hunting for the day. It was very warm out to begin our hunt, but as time passed, the weather only got worse. At first, we had a little bit of luck and found a few bullets here and there, but after that, things weren't going our way. That was until about 4:30 PM, when we were on the way to a nearby gas station to warm-up. A man at an old house (across the street from where I found a 7 eagle button spill, sword scabbard and bullets) asked us if we had a moment. I already got rejected there before, so I was wondering why he wanted to talk to us. He said that his wife was afraid that we would be keeping everything we found and hiding stuff from him. We told him that we were not interested in the finds and it was just a fun hobby we like to do. Seth said "we like to reconnect with history" and it granted us permission here. The wife and their daughter came from the house with Bounty Hunter metal detector they bought her years before. Seth and I taught her how to use it and she ended up finding a saddle tack iron buckle and a alarm clock gear. The whole family was outside with us and we had a ball. Before the wife and daughter came out, I did a quick swipe of the front strip of the house next to the sidewalk. I found a spill of 1910s wheat pennies and what at the time was an unidentifiable token of sorts. I also found an 1865 Indian head cent there, right along the garden. They asked to keep the finds so they can display them, and I can imagine that girl will be hooked soon. The craziest thing happened. The man hands us $30... Why? I don't know... but he insisted. Wow. We tried to get on a couple more properties before dark, but we didn't have much luck. The first thing I did when I got home was eat some lasagna. Then, we were to clean the token off under some water. We at first noticed some writing and a bust. We quickly tried to identify what the writing was and figured out that it said "George Washington Security" . The token was made of pewter so I assumed it was very old. We quickly sealed the pewter and got to posting some pictures. I posted the pictures on "ID me" (Facebook) and got some incredible information that just blew me away. It was a Civil War dog tag or commonly referred to as a Civil War ID disc. These were worn by soldiers to display information if needed (in case they were injured or died). Under the crust and grime of pewter, the ID disc reads "W.S. Moore 150 R(eg(iment)). -----[Pennsylvania Infantry] E S (which stands for enlisted Soldier) Aug. ----- [19, 1862] (date of enlistment) Chan(cellorsville)." It's an indescribable feeling to be able to figure out that exact person - W.S. Moore from the 150th Regiment of Pennsylvania - made camp in that very spot. Thanks for reading and happy hunting everyone!

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Upvote 35
Thanks everyone! I just found out it's the rarest variety of it's type. Only 5-9 known examples! (Identification Discs of Union Soldiers in the Civil War by Larry Maier and Joseph Stahl.
 

That's so awesome man , I'd love to find one, enjoyed the story on the history also...wow super rare find, congratulations [emoji106]
 

nice find! question: how did you seal the pewter? i have never heard of that but i could see why it would be done. Dipped in wax?
 

nice find! question: how did you seal the pewter? i have never heard of that but i could see why it would be done. Dipped in wax?

Thanks! I rinsed it with water to get most of the dirt off then immediately coated it in hairspray and let it dry. Nova Treasure is exactly right.
 

That's so awesome man , I'd love to find one, enjoyed the story on the history also...wow super rare find, congratulations [emoji106]

Thanks so much man! I really appreciate it and I hope you get one soon my friend. :D
 

Cool story and a great find
 

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