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  #31  
Old 10-12-19, 08:02 AM
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Sterling is supposed to be .925 silver, I was told the word silver stamped on could just relate to the colour of the metal not what it claims to be.
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  #32  
Old 10-12-19, 09:24 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by hagwalther View Post
I would find out when the word 'SILVER' was first used on silver items - can't remember off hand but if an item (or part) was under a certain weight (7.5 grams?) then it was not hallmarked and was just stamped 'SILVER'.
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."
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  #33  
Old 11-12-19, 06:59 AM
Alex Rice Alex Rice is offline
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Might as well as my 2p worth. I started collecting officer badges about 10 years ago so have taken a big interest in the markings. There are a lot of threads on the forum regarding hallmarks and sterling silver if you search back in past posts, but here is my take.
Hallmarked silver is sterling, which as mentioned, must contain 0.925% silver. I have seen badges marked Sterling silver, sterling, and also Stg Sil, and in my opinion are all generally good. Some badges are marked silver and are good, such as the Coldstreams badge at the start of this thread, but just having 'silver' is unusual. I am always cautious when I see that because dealers and unscrupulous people such as the previously mentioned badgeman, can make anything, have a minimal silver content, and stamp it as silver, though it may only contain 50%. Rather go for badges marked sterling if you want a genuine badge.
Having said that, I recently bought a Firmin made Coldstreams badge, still in the packet, which was labelled 'Sterling Silver', but the badge only has 'Firmin' embossed on it.
There are loads of anomilies, so really you have to take each badge on its own merit.
Cheers,
Alex
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  #34  
Old 11-12-19, 07:05 AM
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Hi ALex,

Can you let me know the date and pattern No. that are printed on the packet please.

Guessing date is mid to late 1990's and pattern No. is 30086 if badge is large size or 30086 if small. Also guessing there is no 'A' suffix following the pattern No.

Regards,

Chris
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  #35  
Old 11-12-19, 08:45 AM
Alex Rice Alex Rice is offline
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Here it is.
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  #36  
Old 11-12-19, 08:52 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Alex Rice View Post
Here it is.
Hi Alex,

I have the same - I believe the description on the packet is wrong as the non-sterling silver pattern was changed to nickle silver (at least for the small version of the Coldstream Guards) in June 2006 when the pattern number was also changed to include the suffix 'A' as per your example.

So you can't really have sterling silver and suffix 'A' - hope this makes sense.

Regards,

Chris
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  #37  
Old 11-12-19, 11:52 AM
Alex Rice Alex Rice is offline
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Hi Chris
Thanks for the info, it may well be wrong because the patina isn't quite the same as other silver badges I have but I won't write it off just yet. It is still a stunning badge and it was cheap, so no worries either way.
Cheers,
Alex
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  #38  
Old 11-12-19, 06:56 PM
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grey_green_acorn grey_green_acorn is offline
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I too have one of the 'recent' versions presumably from the same incorrectly marked packaging batch as the examples from Alex and Chris.

Members may recall a thread I started which questioned why so many 'current issue' badges in packaging had been 'disposed of' onto the collectors market.
Perhaps these were rejected as mis-marked?

Tim
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Last edited by grey_green_acorn; 11-12-19 at 07:09 PM.
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  #39  
Old 11-12-19, 07:48 PM
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Alan O Alan O is offline
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I beleive that dealers are placing orders with Firmin.
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  #40  
Old 16-01-20, 09:26 PM
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Frank Kelley Frank Kelley is offline
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Well, I can only go with what I can see in the photographs, even the wartime made Gaunt stuff was noticeably rather better than the subject of this thread.


Quote:
Originally Posted by hagwalther View Post
I duuno Frank. The first badges issued to the ranks of the Queen’s Own Gurkha Logistic Regiment in mid/late 1990's were gold plated and quite a few other modern 'New Metal' badges are absolute stunners.

Regards,

Chris
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  #41  
Old 16-01-20, 10:06 PM
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hagwalther hagwalther is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Frank Kelley View Post
Well, I can only go with what I can see in the photographs, even the wartime made Gaunt stuff was noticeably rather better than the subject of this thread.

Her is another piccy - same badge.

Maker Firmin & Sons Limited
Circa 2012

Regards,

Chris
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  #42  
Old 17-01-20, 12:19 AM
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John Mulcahy John Mulcahy is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by grey_green_acorn View Post
I too have one of the 'recent' versions presumably from the same incorrectly marked packaging batch as the examples from Alex and Chris.

Members may recall a thread I started which questioned why so many 'current issue' badges in packaging had been 'disposed of' onto the collectors market.
Perhaps these were rejected as mis-marked?

Tim
I have to believe that if the only thing wrong was incorrect text on the bag, the manufacturer would take back and over label or repack.

John
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  #43  
Old 17-01-20, 08:45 AM
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Frank Kelley Frank Kelley is offline
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Hello Chris,
I don't understand, this badge appears completely different to the one in the original post in this thread?
Regards Frank

Quote:
Originally Posted by hagwalther View Post
Her is another piccy - same badge.

Maker Firmin & Sons Limited
Circa 2012

Regards,

Chris
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