british cap badges

[lir2]

hello!
i collected brit. cap badges,but some years ago i gave them away
i had about 200 badges...
1914-1990
if sombody interested, 2 very good books about this theme:
military badge collecting by john gaylor
and
collecting anodised cap badges by peter taylor
greets mike,lir2

[Adrian Stevenson]

Hi Mike, I hope your badges went to a good home.

I have never collected post WW2 anodised "Staybrite" badges.

I have collected cap badges in a small way, mainly WW1 & WW2. Usually I have been given them or bought them very cheaply at flea markets etc. I have only bought the rarer ones at shows. I only have about 80 badges plus some collar dogs and shoulder titles.

Cheers, Ade.

[Neil LW546]

ive decided to start collecting, since i had come across a few anyway and were just sitting in the draw.

im kinda interested in collecting the new ones aswell as the old ones.

cheers for the book titles.

neil

[Adrian Stevenson]

Hi Neil, good luck on your new collecting venture!

Handle as many good examples as you can to get a feel for the subject. Plus checkout good ones featured on the forum. Old brass looks different to that used on modern "restrikes". Modern brass has a very yellow look to it. White metal is also very "white" too. Do not go by dirt or traces of old "brasso" metal polish found on badges. A fake dealer I knew used to treat his badges to a mixture of "brasso" and black boot polish to try and give them a patina. It gives the badge a distinctive look that might fool the novice. Look for a good clean strike and nice detail. Don't confuse real wear from years of polishing for the soft poor detail of a fake.

Bear in mind most, if not all, badges have been copied. In starting off avoid rare and special forces badges.

It is nice to try and collect based upon a theme if you can. Say Infantry Rgts or the like. My tip for the future investment wise, are WW2 plastic cap badges. Have fun and show us as your collection progresses!

Cheers, Ade.

[Neil LW546]

cheers for those points,

I am interesting in collecting the WW1 and WW2 badges but i was wondering if i would be able to tell what year they were from.

I have friends who buy medal collections and log books to research but i dont have that type of money.

I was thinking maybe to do research on old photo's, which would be cheaper and just as interesting.

[Adrian Stevenson]

Hi Neil, some British cap badges did not change in design or materials used, for example the RA cap badge, so telling a WW1 badge from a WW2 badge is almost impossible. But many units were disbanded or amalgamated after the Great War in 1923, so many designs did change.

Beware of dealers who offer almost every cap badge ever issued! Buy from those who offer a money back gurantee.

It is well worth investing in a few good reference books, such as:

"Military Badges of the British Empire 1914-18" By Reginald Cox

or the two volumes of

"Head-Dress Badges of the British Army" by Kipling and King.

Photos are still cheap and interesting to buy and offer good research possibilities.

Cheers, Ade.

[lir2]

hi ad..
the only parts of my collection,i hold, are 15 badges of scottish rgts
greets mike ,lir2

[Adrian Stevenson]

Hi Mike, I am sure the forum would like to see them, I know I would

Scottish Regt's had some great designs and were often nice large sized badges. Sadly these Regt's badges have suffered greatly at the hands of fakers due to their popularity with collectors.

Cheers, Ade.

[Neil LW546]

I recently had a good excuse to wear a Tyneside Scottish cap badge and tammy!

the badges are pretty big.

neil