Tie Tacs
 

Hi all. I just wanted to ask some general questions about tie tacs. Looking online there is clearly a massive variety of designs out there. Is there any sort of criteria that establishes a tie tac in the collectors eyes as more genuine/ legitimate or is it just a question of blind faith? I see that many have been sold through PMTTS for charity but in what sort of quantities are these things made?

Sorry about the rambling post but I'm just trying to get my head around a fairly new (to me) subject. Any comments would be appreciated. Cheers.

Dunno - I had loads of the things, got them pinned to a massive black tie I had made up for one of the kids 20-odd years ago.
RUC ones were the original? Rupert The Bear with a pin, not butterfly clip.

https://gmic.co.uk/topic/36589-polic...tie-tacksquot/


Only one I have left, somewhere, is a Sheehey cuts skull and sickle one.
Maybe a few of the US police and fire service "911" pins from 2001, 2002.

As my main interest is Poppy/Remembrance pins I have picked up a few tie tacs which are crossovers.

Some have come directly from the unit/individual who had them made , so funds go directly to the charity involved. Other , older ones , I've picked up online which makes it harder to decide if they are genuine or simply cheap knock-offs/copies.

I think numbers depends on whether they are a local or national organisation , a "specialist" unit may only produce a limited number (one or two hundred) while a national service may have a continual run which goes into the thousands.

Interesting observations guys, thank you. I suspect that the origins of most badges are so tricky to pinpoint that it's just a question if if you like the design then snap it up.

They're not a main focus for me but I am collecting badges to military/police dog units and there are lots of variations.