Pakistan, India, Punjab Badges Authentication needed

[Warpath]

British Badge Insignia Collection to be identified from a collection that has been stored for about 40 years.

I am new to British & Commonwealth Badge Collecting and now have a collection by default...I have been a militaria collector and dealer for over 40 years and have not collected British badges although I have owned many. I recently acquired an old collection that I am currently sorting and will post some for identification and reference on this forum.

I doubt there are any rare treasures, but there are so many variations and I assume reproductions in this field I think asking serious collectors for guidance is prudent.

Once I determine which pieces are not authentic I will remove those and sort the originals for sale. I appreciate any comments and suggestions and thanks for looking.

I trust adding a link to photos is all right. The links below go to my Facebook page with several photo albums of the British and Commonwealth badges and insignia.

https://www.facebook.com/pg/WarpathM...95173397181629




Ed Hicks

[gurkharifles]

Hi Ed. the 10th Gurkha Rifles badges I'm fairly sure are copies. That particular design was introduced in 1950 when the Regt got the "Princess Mary's Own" title. There's no reason I know of that the Regt would have worn crude cast badges of Indian manufacture in the 1950's ? I couldn't comment on the others but I'd be immediately suspicious of them given that the Gurkhas are copies and that you have so many of each badge ? Tim

[Warpath]

Thanks, Tim. The collector had many of each badge and had an incredible world class insignia collection with many rare pieces from the US and other nations. He was also a dealer in the 1960s-70s before he died and he left no notes about his collection. I assumed that he had a mix of items and these Indian pieces may be copies he ordered.

[Piffer]

Originally Posted by Warpath

British Badge Insignia Collection to be identified from a collection that has been stored for about 40 years.

I am new to British & Commonwealth Badge Collecting and now have a collection by default...I have been a militaria collector and dealer for over 40 years and have not collected British badges although I have owned many. I recently acquired an old collection that I am currently sorting and will post some for identification and reference on this forum.

I doubt there are any rare treasures, but there are so many variations and I assume reproductions in this field I think asking serious collectors for guidance is prudent.

Once I determine which pieces are not authentic I will remove those and sort the originals for sale. I appreciate any comments and suggestions and thanks for looking.

I trust adding a link to photos is all right. The links below go to my Facebook page with several photo albums of the British and Commonwealth badges and insignia.

https://www.facebook.com/pg/WarpathM...95173397181629




Ed Hicks

Sorry to say it , but they look like copies, observe their back and construction. None the less they can be useful for beginners as stop gaps until replaced with authentic badges. Piffer.

[Khyber]

They're all copies.

[High Wood]

Originally Posted by Khyber

They're all copies.

But, ironically, probably Indian or Pakistani made copies.

[Khyber]

Yes. I mentioned on the forum elsewhere that a couple of years ago in Ooty in south India I was offered several such items. They turn up regularly in coin fairs in India. Somebody's just stamped out a whole lot and it's spread all around. There are copies of British badges as well. I've always wondered who buys all this junk.

[Warpath]

Thanks for the information on these badges. When sorting these it was obvious that the cast pieces were copies of regulation insignia, but I wasn't certain if they would still have been used. Since they are copies I assume these were just produced for collectors and more likely for foreign dealers since these survived in such large lots.

This collection had been stored for 40 years and the previous owner was a militaria dealer. There were a few letters and catalogs from foreign (outside the US) dealers and other collectors, but I found no order forms related to his British badges. Other than a few old price tags I had little to go by.