1st Armoured Regiment Badge Opinion

[juno44]

Hi,

Is this Polish 1st Armoured Regiment breast badge a W.W.2 original? It measures 40mm by 41mm, it is slightly vaulted
and its spinner which is made of brass and maker marked "S.S. Ltd. B". I presume the B stands Birmingham, the city in
England where the badge was made?

Regards, Michel

[A.J. Zawadzki]

Hello Michel,

It’s a reproduction. There were two official producers of this badge. Wartime production was by Kirkwood & Son, Edinburg and then early post war by Steinhauer, Ludenscheid Germany.

Regards,
Tony

[juno44]

Hi Tony,

Thank you for the quick reply, it is highly appreciated.

Happy Holidays, Michel

[A.J. Zawadzki]

Hello Michel,

To better understand what to look for with these, here's the Kirkwood version:



And a Steinhauer:



The most readily visible differences between the two products are here:



Merry Christmas to you also,
Tony

[DougB]

A nice badge, are they difficult to find?

[A.J. Zawadzki]

Hi Doug,

The majority of the Polish Armed Forces in the West badges are seldom seen, and this regiment's badge is no exception. They were not issued in great quantity, with many unit badges having production totals of under 1000 each. Hence the steep market prices, and unfortunately heavy counterfeiting activity. As far as this regiment's badge, over the past decade there's been an average of between one and two genuine examples surfacing per year on the more popular internet auction sites such as ebay, Allegro, DESA, and also retail at the Atykwariat Numizmatyczny site combined.

On a side note, the Kirkwood badge posted above was found by a friend walking through an antiques mall in Kitchener Ontario. His knowledge is more towards Third Reich militaria, so not knowing what it was he left it alone. He was over one night and spotted my Steinhauer version (also pictured above) and said he was certain it was the same badge. Several months later he was back in Ontario and again visited the mall to see that badge still sitting there, for sale at $40. So he picked it up for me. It was a pleasant surprise to see it was genuine, and also the scarcer Kirkwood version. Now if only I could find more of the badges on my want list at right about this price.

Cheers,
Tony

[ze-pole]

Hello,
Indeed, this badge is really difficult to find.
I propose the picture of mine, worn by lieutnant Stanislaw Grabowski.

A friend of mine who collects the regimental breast badges (1rst pol arm div) has just found one this week, after 20 years of reseaches !
Best regards.
ZP