Badges & Patches | Collectibles & Collectors Items

Badges and patches have always served an important role in giving a person an identity. Just as uniform forges a sense of unity among a group of people, so also badges and patches have given a sense of prestige and a sense of belonging to people towards an organisation, group or institution to which they belong.

If we look at it from another side, we can spot another use for badges. In any organisation, a person wearing a badge bearing name and designation is always in a better position to deal with a situation than others. Strangers or guests also feel more at home to deal with a person whose name and pecking order in the organisational hierarchy is known.

Since badges and patches emanate an aura of authenticity, some of them are always a collector's delight. A badge from a particular squadron of an army during a particular year curiously enough seems to carry around it those years of war or struggle that have become famous in the pages of history. So, there are many people who avidly collect badges and patches belonging to the armed forces.

As there is such a huge demand for badges and patches, a large number of fakes and duplications have flooded onto the market. So, as an intelligent collector, you must have some idea about how to spot fakes.

'Rare' Badges Are Indeed Rare
You must remember that army badges had been issued to members of that particular regiment, and the regiment didn't have unlimited number of soldiers. That means if you find a seller constantly selling 'rare' army badges, there is a big possibility that he or she is getting them done from a well known repro maker somewhere along the south coast of the British Isles and selling those fakes as originals. You must ask yourself just how many men were in that battalion that this seller has an unlimited supply of 'rare' 21st Lancers badges, VB badges, or Glengarry badges? It's quite possible that he or she is duping you.

A well known method of passing off fakes as original is the use of a light reddish oxidant which gives the badges an older look but imparts a distinct colour. Another tactic is to bury these fakes in the garden to give them an older look.

As we have already hinted earlier, the easiest way to spot a fake supplier is to find out how often he or she comes to market with rare and original badges and patches. If they have multiple sales going on at the same time or are a frequent seller in any online auction site, then you can be almost hundred percent sure that they are peddling fakes.

There are certain badges such as WW1 Pals Badges, 11th Border Regt badges or Birmingham pals Bn badges, that are so valuable and rare that they will definitely not be offered on online auction site. Collectors will swamp the owner of such rare badges and they will get many times more than what might hope to get from an online auction site. So, if you chance upon offers of such 'rare' badges, just demand the item number to verify the authenticity. You'll almost certainly never be provided with any details.

There are some sellers who try to pump up the prices by declaring that it was worn by so-and-so himself. Hopefully you already have the common sense to call that person's bluff. If it was indeed worn by that so-and-so, how would it find its way to an online auction based website?

Spot The Fake
Some fakes have shapes which were not there in the originals. Here are some details of a few hotly demanded badges.

Tyneside Irish and Cardiff Pals badges were not originally designed as cap badges. In fact, they were worn on collars or on shoulder titles. So, if you chance upon one with a slider, obviously it's a fake. Infantry Volunteer Battalions badges which are dated pre-1908 should have lugs since sliders were rarely used at that time. So, if you happen to lay your hands on a pre-1908 Manchester badge with sliders you can close your eyes and declare it a fake.

Other Fakes Which Have Flooded the Market
The most copied and fake badges are from the cavalry. So, be very careful when you are buying cavalry badges.

If you are buying the 1st Royal Dragoons badges of the post WW II period, carefully examine whether the eagle's claws are there or not. In most of the fakes these are absent.

Another favourite of the collectors and therefore a hot item with fake dealers is the 3rd DG Carabineers - Post 1922 badge with crossed rifles. The originals have brazing holes at the back and the sliders have a hole through them to fix them properly to the badge. The copies rarely have these details. In fact, the sliders are pierced at the bottom in most of the fakes.

These are details of the two most widely copied badges that are traded on one of the most popular online auction sites. There are others too.

Take the example of 5 Royal Irish Lancers badge. The originals were die struck but the fakes which are commonly seen in the market have flat, smooth and solid backs.

Conclusion
Badges and patches carry with them an aura of an era gone by. These small pieces of metal have an immense nostalgic value to most of us. It becomes more overwhelming if some near and dear ones of ours were associated with that period. Taking advantage of this sentiment of the collectors, many unscrupulous dealers peddle fakes at high prices to gullible buyers. So, it is wise not to fall for tall claims of such sellers and understand one thing very clearly � rare items are really rare. They are not offered on online auctions.