5th Royal Inniskilling Dragoon Guards.
 

I have acquired what appear to be white metal overlays for 5th Royal Inniskilling Dragoon Guards cap badges. Is anyone aware of brass VDG badges with white metal overlays?

The overlays are die stamped and therefore too thin to have been complete badges and there is no evidence of them ever having been lugged. My guess is that what I have are left overs from a production run but for what exactly?

I have just found this (possibly) fake badge on Ebay which is also die stamped and I wonder if I have acquired part of a dodgy badge run.

HighWood the gaunt badge you show looks like a genuine 11mm makers marked badge to me.
Cheers Tony.

Tony,

unless my eyes are deceiving me the maker's mark is J.R. Gaunt.London.

The voiding is also lacking between the V and the lower serif of the G.

Simon.

Hi Simon,
I agree with Tony, looks good to me ? seems the 11mm mark ?

Gerard

Simon

These appear to be die struck cap badges that have not had fixings attached,
exactly why that should be I don't know.
They are not particularly good strikes, but they may be genuine badges that the manufacturer did not finish, not 'overlays'.

To the best of my knowledge no such 'overlaid' 5RIDG badge existed and it would have been unnecessary/uneconomic to produce such.

Rob

Simon

I agree with Tony & Gerard, despite its poor finish e.g. the voiding not completed/properly cleared, this badge may well be good, circa WWII at a guess.

Rob

Well so far it is three against one but I was led to believe that a Gaunt badge should be J R Gaunt London and not J R Gaunt.London and that the presence of a full stop between the Gaunt and the London was the sign of a copy.

Simon

Rob,

that is what I was thinking as the only other VDG badges that I have managed to find photographs of are in white metal and appear to be die cast with more solid backs. As in this photograph borrowed from Malcolm Davey.

Simon

Simon,
Make that four against one. I like the Gaunt maker mark on it.
Eddie

So, if I have understood this correctly there are J.R. Gaunt badges with the full stop that are genuine but the maker's marks have to be 11mm in length. If this is the case why aren't the fakers making badges with 11mm Gaunt maker's marks?


I also have found this from the maker's marks section : J.R.GAUNT.LONDON 11mm Royal Norfolk Regiment The somewhat uncommon, but believed authentic, "Gaunt with a dot mark". This is a noticeably shorter mark than the restrike mark shown left.

The italics are mine.


Simon.

Simon

I have located a reference to two 5RIDG cap badges made by Gaunt.

There is one with a flat crown with the same areas un-voided as in your image, and another with the more standard raised crown with all area fully voided.

Unfortunately I have no images of the reverse of these badges, but IMO I'm sure there are genuine die struck, solid backed die struck and indeed cast badges in collections.

Hope this is of help.

Rob

Simon,
I think the three badges you show in the opening post are possibly three poorly stuck and unfinished copies? Just look at the state of the pearls to the upper arms of the crown? They are thin and not like any Orignial 5th Skins badge I have or have seen!

Best Regards

Andy

Thank you Andy, I am also convinced that they are not right. They are so thin that they could only be overlays for a brass badge and, as the VDG never had brass badges with WM overlays, they must be fake.

Simon.

Andy

With respect, that pretty much as I've said, they are indeed poor strikes and I don't know if they are copies or genuine, they may or may not be, you do not come across these sort of items everyday, in fact I've never seen 5RIDG unfinished like these before.

I would also add IMO weight of numbers agreeing does not make badges right or wrong.

In my experience, particularly with items such as these, it is often good to keep an open mind, as they may have been struck as badges or for another purpose, until you are sure what their intended use was, you surely cannot draw any conclusion?

Regards

Rob