Silver Leeds Pals

[mm1]

Hi All,

wondered what members thoughts are on the ' unmarked silver leeds pals ' badge on Regimental Badges site ? Sorry, can't post a link to it...Does anyone have a photo of original Officers silver cap badges which I understand were presented to Officers by the Mayor and were only initially 22 of them issued ?

Many thanks in advance, Mark

[grenadierguardsman]

I wouldn't pay £350 on an unmarked Silver badge.
Andy

[Charliedog012012]

Here you go:

https://www.regimentalbadges.com/en-...2#.XeAmMi-nyhA

[Luke H]

Post #35 onwards in this thread may be of some help https://www.britishbadgeforum.com/fo...ds+Pals&page=3

[mm1]

many thanks for replies...

Mark

[mtrpltpara]

It is certainly a lovely badge, but it isn't one of the original officer issue.
Regards,
Bill.

[Alex Rice]

The lack of voiding to me is wrong on that silver badge. At best I would have thought it's a sweetheart brooch.

[KLR]

Quite simply, it is a brooch ! The pin and hasp was not intended to be fitted on a cap. Nor, is there any trace of an original cap fixing.

The brooch fitting was used on Scottish glengarry or tam o shanters - as these headgear were less rigid.


That said, there are silver officers badges that were not assayed - but with 'cap' fittings - sold at a lower price.

[High Wood]

Can I ask why genuine silver badges made in the U.K. were not assayed? My only thought is that manufacturers would not put items up for assaying if they knew that the purity of the silver was not up to the required specification.

[mike_vee]

From "HALLMARKING GUIDANCE NOTES" , Assay Offices of Great Britian:

"Articles below a certain weight are exempt from hallmarking. The exemption
weight is based on the weight of the precious metal in the article"

Silver 7.78 grams

"Any pre-1950 item may now be described and sold as precious metal without
a hallmark, if the seller can prove that it is of minimum fineness and was
manufactured before 1950."

Also cost must have beeen a factor , I posted this in reply to a previous query :

Just checked the London Assay Office site to get an idea of costs for hallmarking.

1–2 articles in a packet = £13.00 per packet.

3 articles or over in a packet = £18 per packet + £1 per article.

On top of that add VAT + return postage ( As appropriate plus £3.25 per shipment)


As most manufacturers would be sending multiple items the costs wouldn't be that great , especially for gold. But for single custom made items , especially silver , the additional costs (£13.00 + VAT + appropriate postage x2 + shipment £3.25) would add a lot to the final cost of the item.

[tarabelle]

Could I ask something

I looked at the back closely and was the pin out on afterwards because it looks like there's Mark's where Lugs might have been ???

T X

[Luke H]

Originally Posted by tarabelle

Could I ask something

I looked at the back closely and was the pin out on afterwards because it looks like there's Mark's where Lugs might have been ???

T X

I see what you mean but I don’t think so. The mark is actually oval and same width and length roughly as the wire used for the catch so in my opinion it’s either where the catch has been repositioned or a mark from the casting process. Strongly I suspect it’s a very nice (but not £350 worth of nice) sweetheart badge.

Incidentally looking at the tarnish pattern it’s the exact same badge that was in the Bosley’s 2015 sale. I wonder if Steven bought it or it didn’t sell and he’s kept it all this time.

[grenadierguardsman]

Its probably worth £50-£75, that's all IMHO. An unmarked silver brooch.
Andy

[Deejayuu]

I saw one of these many years ago and did some asking around at the time. It looks to be the same badge as i saw back then so should be smaller than a known original, shame dimensions have not been provided. I believe this to be a sweatheart badge hence the broach fitting to the rear. There was an official silver badge for the regiment (15th bn only) but of very limited numbers were issued and only supplied to officers being commissioned in 1914. I`d heard the silver badge was presented by the Lord Mayor to each officer in person as he had a large part in raising the unit and funded the equipping of the unit from his own pocket (£6000 in 1914). Its covered on page 20 & 21 of Laurie Milners book,`Leeds Pals. Can`t remember the exact number but about 25 / 27 ish.
i`m very fortunate to have picked up one of these badges, see my West Yorks Regt album for an example.

kind regards, Dave

[mm1]

Just received today - from Australia ! Same as badge on regimentals site but different pin attachment. I think it is too big and heavy for a sweetheart - measurements are 43mm wide at widest point ie scrolls end to end, 32mm high and around 2mm thick. I believe it is un-marked silver. Very well made item. Hard to tell if other fixings had been present or if it has always been on this pin attachment which looks more like a medal bar fixing...

Mine for around £60 which included the dreaded customs charge of £14.00 !

All the best, Mark