This is a US Census badge from the 1900s. The US census enumerators would wear these badges to signify their position when they went house to house in each county. The shape of the badge is a shield with an eagle sitting on top of it with its wings spread open. The arched top of the shield has the words Unites States which is surrounded by 18 stars. Census is within a rectangle in the middle of the badge with a rising sun symbol above it and the date 1900 in an oval at the bottom of the shield. The background behind census and 1900 is stripes similar to the stripes on the American Flag. The letters are painted black to make them stand out more. The back side of the pin is plain with a vertical clasp.
Post-Civil War