First off, nice find! It has the look of some sort of commemorative item. Having a date possibly showing the month, date, and part of the year, I'd lean toward that.
Personally, it being bent and pretty toasted, I'd take a brass brush to it and try and uncover more writing.
Experiment with it, and you might be surprised!
Kudos,
Carl
Possibly since you are from Va Beach the 21st is probably something to do with 21st Street. May be from the surf shop or from something else like an arcade on 21st St. Did you find this on the beach?