We were recently going through some things in the process of moving, and I came across a box that belonged to my Great-great grandfather. In this box was a pin, which despite hours searching online I can not find any information on except for the English translation of the pin.
Here is a picture: http://imgur.com/HDtdkXM
I have figured out it stands for Assn General of Alsaciens-Lorrains to America or some version thereof.
Any info would be useful, just trying to find out more about the man. If it helps there was an 1859 Emperor Napoleon the III medal with it, which i was able to find quickly online. Here is a link to it... http://www.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/coins/collection/watson/page356.html
Thank you, and forgive me as this is my first time ever on reddit, did not know where else to turn :P
Basically this pin was given out to members of this organization. Those in this organization were born or have ancestors directly from Alsace-Lorraine, France.
I am not sure how much monetary value this pin holds, however, considering that there is a lack of mentioning of this pin on the internet, you could donate it to a French-American heritage museum or keep it as a family heirloom.
I found a primary source document from the US Attorney General on alien enemies (German immigrants living in America during WWI) and how to properly document their alien enemy status if they were to have lived in Alsace-Lorraine.¹
Stands for General Association of American Alsaciens-Lorrains, and RF stands for République Française. The stuff inbetween is a phrygian cap over a "faisceaux de licteurs" ie roman fasces. In 1848 and 1870 the phrygian cap+roman fasces appear on the seal of the French Republic. The whole thing is still used today, a stylised has been used as recently as 2015 in official comms (see this for instance.) Can't tell from the picture what the two shields are. There have been a number of Associations of Alsaciens-Lorrains throughout the world, some are still active to this day, there's a list here for instance http://www.alsacemonde.org/les-alsaciens-dans-le-monde/associations-dalsaciens (and interestingly there's one with a fairly similar name in Canada)