Anyone Recognize this as a WWI 368th Aero Squadron Pin?

[Austin_Militaria]

Picked this up last week. Has an early C clasp and is 20k. No maker marks. About 2" long.

 

The 368th Aero Squadron was short lived and never left the US. Most of the squadron pins I have seen are from ones that deployed overseas.

[pfrost]

Never seen one of those, but it sure is neat

[rathbonemuseum.com]

Nice. Never seen one either.

[Kimo]

I've never seen one but it is very nicely made and it is a nice addition to a collection of squadron pins. All Air Service units were called Squadrons and given numbers such as the 368th. However, many were not flying units. The Air Service needed units to do things like construct air bases, put together aircraft, work on engines, train men, and even go out in the forests and cut down spruce trees to provide the needed wood for companies to build aircraft. I do not know much about the 368th Aero Squadron beyond what you have mentioned that it was short-lived and never went overseas other than it was formed at Langley Air Field in January of 1918 as part of the Aviation Section, Signal Corps and was redesignated as part of the new Air Service when the ASSC was renamed the Air Service. Then in August of 1918 it was redesignated as Detachment #17, Air Service Production Squadron, and finally was demobilized in January, 1919. As an Production Squadron they would not have been flying aircraft but rather would have been involved in providing goods and services to other Air Service Aero Squadrons. For example, the Aero Squadrons that were made up of lumberjacks who went into the forests to cut down spruce trees for the war effort were designated as Aero Squadron 'Production Squadrons'. I am also not sure if this is wartime production or possibly post war for wear by vets who were in this unit as many unit pins are.

 

You mention this is 20K gold. That is a very unusual purity of gold in that would make it almost too soft to actually use. Normally solid gold is anywhere between 9K and 14K and in rare cases it is as high as 18K but 18K tends to be very soft. Pure gold is so soft you can dent it with your fingernail or tooth so it needs to have other metals alloyed to it to make it durable. Is the marking on the back simply 20K or are there some other letters or such along with the 20K marking such as GF or RG or EP or GP or something like that? Those would indicate it is gold plated with 20K gold rather than being solid gold all the way through.

[Austin_Militaria]

 

You mention this is 20K gold. That is a very unusual purity of gold in that would make it almost too soft to actually use. Normally solid gold is anywhere between 9K and 14K and in rare cases it is as high as 18K but 18K tends to be very soft. Pure gold is so soft you can dent it with your fingernail or tooth so it needs to have other metals alloyed to it to make it durable. Is the marking on the back simply 20K or are there some other letters or such along with the 20K marking such as GF or RG or EP or GP or something like that? Those would indicate it is gold plated with 20K gold rather than being solid gold all the way through.

 

No markings, but I tested it at 20k using an electrical conductivity tester.