WW 1 WW 2 ??? Ship building pin

[SADolch]

Not sure what era this ship building workers pin is from,have seen several saying WW 2,,,This pin is a gold color while those i have seen are a copper color...any info will be appreciated..........Dave H

[crites1234]

you see a fair amount on ebay, been looking to get one but i also know nothing about them

[gel65]

I seen seen a fair amount of these I believe these badges are pre ww2 more likely from the 30s

[Wagriff]

I see these pins every now and then on eBay and other places, but I believe that they are fakes. The original pins were made in WWI (1918-9) and when you compare the 2, the difference is obvious.



This is the blurb that accompanied the above photo:

Badge: Shipbuilding War Service

The United States entered World War I in April 1917. Within days, the federal government created the Emergency Fleet Corporation (EFC) to construct a fleet of merchant ships. The EFC hired the American International Shipbuilding Corporation to build and operate the largest shipyard in the world: Hog Island, near Philadelphia.

This badge identified the wearer as a member of the World War I Hog Island shipbuilding team.

[crites1234]

so chances of one on ebay being real isnt great? any way to spot a real one?

[popeye]

The ones I have from WW2 have a picture and ID number of the worker in them. They are either round metal, with or with out a plastic cover over them.
This was done for security reasons so a guard could look at the photo and compare the id number to their lists.
I would tend to agree that these might be more from WW1. During the depression era very few war ships were being built and it was at an all time low.
But it could have been for the lend lease ships?

[Wagriff]

If it helps, these are the given specs for them.


ID Number:
2009.0157.01
Material:
copper alloy
Date:
1918-19
Dimensions:
2 1/4 in x 1 5/8 in x 1/4 in; 5.715 cm x 4.1275 cm x .635 cm
Source:
U. S. Shipping Board Emergency Corp.

At least one manufacturer of these badges marked them on the back with their initials "W&H" Co. which was the Whitehead and Hoag Company-a maker of buttons and badges of the day. The badge is solid and not hollow back and features a substantial pin with a "C" catch. The pin can be either horizontal or vertical. Doing a quick scan for them, I see several originals out there being offered for anywhere from $45 bucks on up to $100.

[Masonk]

This may be late, however the one posted by Dave H is an original, IMHO. There are examples of them out there made of brass with the applied gilding.

These are fairly common and sell in the $20-$100 range (saw one at a gun show this past weekend for $25) although they don't necessarily fly off the shelves. With that, I don't think it would be worthwhile to create reproductions.

Add to the fact the ID # is imprinted in the back (again, why go to that much trouble) and I'm fairly certain this is original.

Here's a gilded example from Flyingtigers website:

Flying Tiger Antiques Online Store: WWI War Service Ship Building Lapel Badge for Upper Management with Initials & 1918 on Reverse

By the way, Hog Island in Philadelphia was the birthplace of the Hoagie!