Nickel WW1 (era) Air Service Collar Disk Set -- Your thoughts?

[cwnorma]

I got these a little while back. I have shown them to a number of people and also posted these over in another section of the forum and so far no one has been able to definitively nail them down.

When they were first described to me, I thought they were WW1 insignia that had either been stripped and plated for wear into the 1920s or made just post WW1 during the transition from bronze to gilt--but that the gold color had worn off...

They are in most respects standard WW1 era collar disks. The hardware on the back is what you would expect (square shank on the screw post) and the (single) remaining nut is also of the WW1 style.

The thing is, they are nickel (or some other silver-colored alloy). They are not plated. I have examined them very closely and they are not faded gilt. Weird. They are also old, they have some patina and the screw-posts are non-standard threads the way so many WW1 disks are and the nut too is nickel.

 

Standard WW1 style with diamond cross-hatched background or fine dots (you can see below the wing and prop where they have been polished and the fine background has worn down)

 

From the toning, you can see that the hardware (also nickel) was attached and the whole thing was not plated.

So far, I have heard two explanations that seem plausible:

1). That these are for some sort of Aviation ROTC program

2). Enlisted dress whites.

Either way, I have never come across another pair. Have any of you?

If any of you have any other ideas, I'd love to hear them!

Chris

 

[Major Z]

I have a Type I QM disc that is like this. Even the nut is the same silver color. Its the only one I've encountered so I'm not sure of its origin or purpose either. Anyone else have something like this?

[gomorgan]

I don't know if this has anything to do with these, but remember years ago a friend had a WWI aviators uniforms including a Officers hat with a blue band and it had silver colored buttons on chin strap (they were plain) it did not have a hat emblem, but had a grommet for one. He told me that his partner told him he wore this while taking aviation training. Did the aviation cadets wear em collar disks then?

[cwnorma]

Major Z,

 

Would you be willing to share a photo of your Quartermaster disk? I would love to see more of these unusual insignia.

 

Thanks!

 

Chris

[Major Z]

Major Z,

 

Would you be willing to share a photo of your Quartermaster disk? I would love to see more of these unusual insignia.

 

Thanks!

 

Chris

 

Chris,

 

Here is a not-so-great close-up of my QM disc. If you'd like other pics just let me know. The front, back and the fastening nut are this silver color. This is the only one I have ever seen so I had to snatch it up!

 

[QED4]

It is not uncommon to see painted collar insignia especially foreign made ones, these are probably just pot metal ones that were never painted or have had their paint removed.