David -
I hear the points you're making & understand what you're saying.
Some time back, Chris Brooker embarked on a project of authouring badge books with exactly the level of detail you describe. These catalogued every known issue & variant - material, fasteners, makers, new die / old die, officers / OR's, etc, etc, etc. He also included a numbering scheme, which would allow for the sequential addition of any new variants which came to light post publication. The series was never completed, but the first few volumes would have to be adjudged an outstanding piece of work.
I don't know what the sales figures were for these books, but it doesn't seem like they were embraced by the collecting community. They seldom come up in conversations, auction houses don't use the definitive numbering scheme, etc. The books are extremely complex; maybe too complex for the majority of hobbyists who don't collect that way.
One thing should be learned from the Brooker initiative - any reference work that gets into minute & subtle detail needs world class illustrations. This was the weak point in Chris' books. On occassion, I have had a badge in one hand & the book in the other, & have been unable to precicely determine which of the dozens of variants it is.
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