Hi Don
I'm glad I didn't "biff" some of those old books.... Well, I never would have because I keep EVERYTHING.
You are right. The "male" force was produced from a "female" die and this gave the "hollow backed" effect you see on caps and collars. This gives the badge its strength and means that they haven't got to use a whacking great bit of brass or whatever!
Your item is an "original" male version that would be pressed into the die thereby creating a female die that could create the die itself. As I said, they were usually very careful with your piece as they were often hand made and were often the only way of easily recreating a new die.
Most shoulder titles I've seen are "solid" backed but I guess there will be ones that are made like caps and collars too.
|