RWF and Hampshire GM Economy Badges

[Spitace41]

Hi all. I have picked these badges up recently and they seem OK to me. The sliders are very strong and they look like clear strikes, however I am aware that these have been reproduced so would be interested in other opinions. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Many thanks.

[Luke H]

Hants is fine. RWF is the repro with die flaw running through the word Royal.

[Frank Kelley]

I do like the Hampshire Regiment, sadly, these particular RWF do seem to be turning up more and more these days in collections, people make an assumption that they are original, but, no matter, there are a great many original examples to be found.
This was last years harvest, bought along the coastline from Chester down to Caernarfon between lockdowns, all typically well worn, different and yet, very similar, have fun collecting!

Originally Posted by Spitace41

Hi all. I have picked these badges up recently and they seem OK to me. The sliders are very strong and they look like clear strikes, however I am aware that these have been reproduced so would be interested in other opinions. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Many thanks.

[Spitace41]

Thank you for the replies chaps. I had no idea about the die flaw in the RWF badges, but glad the Hants is ok.

[KLR]

There are quite a few (genuine) badges with flaws. Mostly from a dent in the die. I'll show some examples when I get home.

[Toby Purcell]

Originally Posted by Frank Kelley

I do like the Hampshire Regiment, sadly, these particular RWF do seem to be turning up more and more these days in collections, people make an assumption that they are original, but, no matter, there are a great many original examples to be found.
This was last years harvest, bought along the coastline from Chester down to Caernarfon between lockdowns, all typically well worn, different and yet, very similar, have fun collecting!

In the mid to late 1950s there were hundreds of these badges unissued in thick brown cardboard boxes within the clothing store of Hightown Barracks, Wrexham. In an attempt to make use of them they were issued to trainee soldiers undergoing punishment (jankers) as a convenient means of marking out individuals who could be quickly selected by NCOs to carry out menial tasks. When the Welsh Brigade was formed and brigade cap badges issued the remaining stocks of the all brass RWF badges, which was still plentiful, were backloaded through the Ordnance chain for disposal. They had been in store at Wrexham since WW1.

[KLR]

The Glasgow Museum has a collection of the new TF badges in the area - sealed in 1916. The quality of these badges is very poor - probably made in great haste, not surprisingly !

[Frank Kelley]

I would certainly be very unhappy with the example in the original post, I have yet to see one with an acceptable provenance.

Originally Posted by Toby Purcell

In the mid to late 1950s there were hundreds of these badges unissued in thick brown cardboard boxes within the clothing store of Hightown Barracks, Wrexham. In an attempt to make use of them they were issued to trainee soldiers undergoing punishment (jankers) as a convenient means of marking out individuals who could be quickly selected by NCOs to carry out menial tasks. When the Welsh Brigade was formed and brigade cap badges issued the remaining stocks of the all brass RWF badges, which was still plentiful, were backloaded through the Ordnance chain for disposal. They had been in store at Wrexham since WW1.