Posted 15 years ago
earthandma…
(131 items)
01/05/2012
I need some help. I just purchased this pin. It was issued by a telephone company in or around Minneapolis, Minnesota. It is believed to have been awarded to an employee sometime in the early 1920s. The previous owner bought it from the original owner in the 1970s. The original owner had been an Operator for the telephone company for over 25 years. This makes me the 3rd owner of the pin.
Nobody knows what company issued the pin. Does anybody out there happen to know? Help!
02/02/2012
Here are some more features of the pin:
It measures about 5/8 ". The back is marked F.H. Noble & Co. out of Chicago. It is finely detailed but there is no gold content.
I have asked every "guru", expert and telephone historian out there about the pin - but nobody seems to know what company awarded it. Although I know it is rare, there are several of these out there and it was issued in the Minnesota area.
Please let me know if you see this and have some insight about the pin. Thanks!
I have no idea who awarded it but I believe it to be a service award pin. Something you get after working for a given period of time.
I was given one of these pins by a retired telephone operator that worked for the Tri State Telephone Co. that operated out of St Paul Minn. The Tri State Telephone Co was in operations from 1899 to 1933 when the company was purchased by Northwestern Bell Telephone. The woman(Irene) told me she received her pin after she had completed one year service as an operator. She said she was a operator for 40 years from the 1920's until she retired in 1964.
Thank you ttomtucker! I believe you have solved the mystery! It could only have been issued by one of a few telephone companies from the Twin Cities area and I think you are correct - it must have been from Tri-State Telephone. Thank you again!
Thank you fhrjr2. I have written books about collecting telephone pins. I have a gigantic collection of telephone pins. There is only one other person in the USA who might have a larger and better collection than mine. He has some very valuable and scarce pins but I am catching up to him!
Thank you AR8Jason.
Thank you jackart.