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#1
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Essex Regiment Officers Silver Cap Badges
I have seen a few unmarked silver Essex Regiment badges for sale on dealers lists including one badge by Gaunt. Are unmarked silver badges to the Essex Regiment common ? Is it because they were privately produced for officers ? I was going to buy the Gaunt one but was a bit suprised it was not hallmarked anywhere. Grateful for our Essex Regiment collectors observations.
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#2
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Greetings HK.
If I am correct, I believe all Officer's badges were private purchase, bought either by the officer himself or perhaps a gift from a proud relative. Some were hallmarked, others impressed with the word Sterling and others with nothing to support the fact they were silver. Then there are those that are silver plated and in some instances these are marked on the rear with a letter P. If you look at my Essex revamped Album here you will see the various styles of Officers' cap badges in silver, silver plate, white metal and OSD. In answer to the question, are they common; they are not scarce bearing in mind the number of years The Essex Regiment has been in existence and the number of Officers that must have passed through over the years. However, those to The Territorial Battalions will be scarcer, due to the fact of their shorter time span and less number of Officers. Price wise, they can be anything from £80 or more upwards to an early pattern with hallmark which I have seen with an asking price of £175. Hope this helps, but if I can assist you further, please ask. Regards Brian |
#3
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All I can add to Brian's excellent reply is:
- examples are occasionally found marked 'SILVER' - examples hallmarked to early or wartime years typically command a premium over other years. |
#4
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Thanks for the information - and especially the album link.
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#5
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My interest was piqued by finding 2 Essex Regiment badges belonging to my Grandfather who served with the Essex Regiment. They seem to be the common design and I am presuming that they are not fake. Photo attached.
Today I purchased one marked silver badge and the Gaunt silver badge with no hallmark, as well as an unmarked silver pair of Sphinx / Egypt officers collar badges. Thanks again for the help and the access to the great Essex Album. |
#6
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Greetings again HK.
Glad to be of assistance. I'm interested in the Silver Sphinx collars you have purchased. As far as I'm aware and with support from Colin Churchill's excellent work, 44th Foot (East Essex) alone, wore Sphinx collar badges and these were made of brass and for a short period, officers wore an embroidered Sphinx. I'm sure ExpatYeoman will agree with me on this point as well. Please can you post piccies of your Silver Sphinx collars and we'll see what you've got. Regards. Brian |
#7
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I hope this link to the photos of the collar badges works.
https://alliedandaxismilitaria.com//...h=55676&phqu=2 Highlight and right click should work if the link does not. Also, I once posted on this forum a photo of a strange Essex Regt. badge I bought from Minden Militaria. No-one seemed to know what it was though. Link attached. https://www.britishbadgeforum.com/fo...ht=hkbuttonman Last edited by hkbuttonman; 28-07-20 at 10:20 PM. Reason: adding something |
#8
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Greetings again.
The collars appear to be the correct pattern for early 44th Foot, female Sphinx with a rounded face, mantle over the back etc, but as I stated earlier, they were made of brass. Perhaps you have found something not seen previously. A little more research may provide an answer and hopefully other Essex folk may have an idea. Re the second item; still none the wiser and can't add anything else to the answers received when originally posted. Regards. Brian |
#9
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My understanding was the same as Brian's, I've seen white metal shields and eagles for the Essex Regt but not as sphinx for 44th. More research needed!
Ditto re second badge, have not been able to ID that yet. |
#10
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Thoughts on this example please? The manufacture is not standard for an ORs badge so I thought maybe officer quality?
Thanks, cheers, Alex |
#11
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Greetings Alex.
Not sure what you have here. From the front it appears to be a proper first pattern ORs badge, however, the rear is most certainly not. I suspect, but I may well be wrong, that a proper badge has had a plate of whichever metal it is, cut to fit exactly and the badge has then been put into use for another purpose. Possibly a Sweetheart item, however the fixings appear wrong. Are they lugs or the type that would support a pin? Whatever it was made for, I very much doubt it would have been used a cap badge after it had been adapted. Regards. Brian |
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