✅ SOLVED Unknown handmade copper tag

[cti4sw]

The inscription reads "Geo. Smith / Hilltown / PA" and appears to have been inscribed with either a nail or some other pointed tool, as the lettering is created with individual hammer points (there's a word for this but I can't think of it right now).

The tag hole is also hand-punched and the copper piece is not uniformly cut. It's about 1" wide by 2" long and tapers slightly away from the hole, which is in the lower left corner.


Front


Back



For some reason I feel like it could have been a cattle ear tag or something like that. Found it in my apartment complex near a small branch of the Neshaminy Creek; the apartment complex used to be a farm up until the 1970s, and the area I found it in used to be woods until probably the 1980s or 1990s.

 

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[clovis97]

Could it be an identification tag for logs that had been cut so they could be identified at a saw mill?

Possibly a homemade dog tag for a kid playing army or war?

Possibly a homemade dog tag for a boy scout...or even a soldier? Anyone know when Army issue dog tags were introduced on a widespread basis to all servicemen?

 

[cti4sw]

Could it be an identification tag for logs that had been cut so they could be identified at a saw mill?

Possibly a homemade dog tag for a kid playing army or war?

Possibly a homemade dog tag for a boy scout...or even a soldier? Anyone know when Army issue dog tags were introduced on a widespread basis to all servicemen?

With all the war activity this area has seen, I would be amazed if this turned out to be a homemade dog tag. The log tag is another possibility, I suppose. I will be doing further research.

 

[clovis97]

Just trying to help you figure this out and date the piece:

When did "PA" begin as an accepted abbreviation for Pennsylvania?

 

[cti4sw]

Just trying to help you figure this out and date the piece:

When did "PA" begin as an accepted abbreviation for Pennsylvania?

According to my research, although the postal service began recognizing - indicating the practice is older - abbreviated state names in 1874, the USPS still preferred that customers write the names out. In 1963 the USPS made 2-letter abbreviations a little more official with the introduction of zip codes.

I just posted on Hilltown Historical Society's FaceBook page asking for assistance. Hopefully someone responds that has access to old atlases. The state could have been abbreviated for more reasons than simple acceptance; maybe ol' George didn't know how to spell it out, or didn't have time, or his tool broke, or he felt limited by space on the tag, the list is endless.

EDIT: Given the size of the letters and the spaces between them, my hunch says it was abbreviated for space constraints. I'm also inclined to think it's older than the 1960s because back then you could get (a) dog tags, (b) better metal for tagging and (c) better tagging inscriptions for pretty cheap.

 

[Erving]

When I used to run a trapline, besides having your trap registration number stamped on the trap pan, you had to have a nametag with your name, town and state attached to the chain. I made all my own usind brass tags like that. It might be a name tag from a trapper.

 

[cti4sw]

When I used to run a trapline, besides having your trap registration number stamped on the trap pan, you had to have a nametag with your name, town and state attached to the chain. I made all my own usind brass tags like that. It might be a name tag from a trapper.

I have found trap tags before, but those must have been newer - the tags were neatly cut and the letters were stamped, not hammered like they are here. I suppose it's a possibility, yet another to keep in mind. The area I found it in was once woods and does still have a creek running through it.

 

[Crzyhors]

This appears to me to be a "Trap Tag". As a young man in PA i had a trap line in the winter to make extra money. The PA fish and game commission required that all traps had an identifying tag on them, which we attached with a small piece of bailing wire. they were often lost and needed to be replaced. I used an engraver on my tags, however i knew some people that did theirs in this manner. plus, the fact that you found it near a stream (a prime area for all sorts of trapping) convinces me.

 

[cti4sw]

Sounds good. How old would you say it is?

 

[Crzyhors]

I would see if you can find a George Smith in Hilltown.... worth a shot!

 

[mick56]

Just trying to help you figure this out and date the piece:

When did "PA" begin as an accepted abbreviation for Pennsylvania?

From Wikipedia:

Modern two-letter abbreviated codes for the states and territories originated when the Post Office introduced ZIP codes in 1963. The purpose was to make room for ZIP codes in the address, rather than to standardize state abbreviations per se.[SUP][16][/SUP]

 

[cti4sw]

From Wikipedia:

Modern two-letter abbreviated codes for the states and territories originated when the Post Office introduced ZIP codes in 1963. The purpose was to make room for ZIP codes in the address, rather than to standardize state abbreviations per se.[SUP][16][/SUP]

Yeah, I saw that, if you read my post after his. Just because the USPS made it official does not mean people weren't already doing it for years.