Michellets wrote:
> I'm hoping that some other people here will take a look at this pin and that it can be ID'ed.
I'm hampered by the Original Poster's 50-hour delay in providing the additional photos which are needed for a more-specific ID -- and he said he would provide "shortly." As you see, we are all still waiting for the additional photos.
I also asked him to tell me whether or not the object's back has "grey-metal filling" (as it seems to in the single photo of the back). Still waiting for that info.
> The enamel work looks like old enamel work, and the pin does look old, but is it a costume pin or a piece of military wear?
I believe it is not a "costume pin" (meaning, civilian-use), because all it shows is the New York State Seal ...and "pure" State Seal insignia tend not to be worn by civilians. Civilian use is of course possible, but I think highly unlikely in this case, because the pin (or whatever it is) was dug in Columbia SC, not somewhere in NY State.
I should mention that this pin definitely has the 1882-and-later version of the NY State Seal. Among other details, this pin shows the eagle standing on a globe (which is hard to see on this pin, but it's there). Also, the pin shows ships on the water. On the 1790s-to-1881 version of the NY State Seal, there is no globe for the eagle to stand on, and no ships on the water. To see photos of civil war (and earlier) NY State Militia uniform buttons, and read the info about the 1882-revised version of the Seal, view the Albert button-book and the Tice button-book.