There have always been a/a badges for sale commercially. The sheer number of SAS a/a cap badges on the market is no small indicator that many a/a badges are made for commercial sale and have not come out of the MOD stocks. In the 1990's there was a hardware shop in Tidworth garrison that stocked cap badges and had a large number of obscure badges in ot's stock. The owner had boxes of badges such as the RSG, ACC etc - all of which no longer existed. Some dealers have moved on to ordering obsolete badges. When they come from the original maker, like Firmin, then you will struggle to identify them.
Ebay has seen a glut of UOTC cap badges recently for the same reason.
Alan
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