A reader has (we think rightly) speculated that this is a "tool check," i.e., a tag that was attached to a particular tool in an industrial or construction setting that identified it as the property of the company. Individual or contract workers would thus "check out" and return tools as needed. See, for example, this eBay listing for a metal tool check from the Hudson Car Co., which includes the warning "Penalty for loss twenty five cents."

It has also been observed that there was a man named Louis Gold who was a prominent NYC builder during the early 20th century. Gold was a Russian Jewish émigré and has a fascinating life story, which you can read more about in the profile reproduced from the Brooklyn Eagle below. The short story for our purposes is that Gold owned a large building company, one that more likely than not employed a tool check system for its workers. The inscription "LOUIS GOLD" and accompanying serial number would make perfect sense in this context.

To read the complete article, see:
MYSTERIES FROM THE VAULT: LOUIS GOLD BADGE(www.anspocketchange.org/mysteries-from-the-vault-louis-gold-medal/)

To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see:
QUERY: LOUIS GOLD MEDAL INFORMATION SOUGHT(www.coinbooks.org/esylum_v18n19a32.html)