Collecting Military Insignia: Hallmarks, Names, and Numbers

If collecting metal insignia is your thing, the first thing you will notice is many of the insignia you come across will have a symbol, number, or a company name of some sort on the back. Once in a blue moon you may even come across one that has a soldiers name engraved on the back. All of these are clues that will help you identify not only who made the insignia, but also a time period in which it was manufactured.

Hallmarks

Manufacturers of jewelry and other things such as silver tea sets and whatnot have been placing their mark on their products for quite some time. If for no other reason, it was a method to assure a buyer of the true manufacturer, and level of quality. Since most early metal insignia was produced by jewelers, it was only natural they were hallmarked.

If there was a uniform hallmarking system before 1960, I, nor anyone I've talked to has ever figured it out. Badges from this time period are adorned with a dizzying array of symbols, logo's and company names.

In 1960 things changed with the introduction of a letter/number code to indentify the various Government Contractors. This system is still in use and provides the collector with information as to when the insignia was manufactured, and in some cases what the insignia's base metal is. Wartimecollectables.com has a hallmarks page that will give you a jump start on your detective work.

With all that said, you will find many exceptions to the rule when dealing with hallmarked insignia. I have insignia that I purchased in a Post Exchange in 1980 that bears a "N.S. Meyer New York" hallmark instead of the "M-22" it should have, and I've seen other insignia that I knew were legitimate without any hallmarks at all. The hallmarking system is not perfect, but it does provide you, the collector, with another piece of the puzzle when researching an insignia.

Names

This is a common practice with Medals, but very rare with insignia. I have only seen one legitimate example of a military insignia with the soldiers name engraved on it. But it does happen, case in point:

I was working part time at a picture framing shop when a nice old lady came in wanting to surprise her husband with a gift of a framed display of her husband's ribbons, patches, and insignia from his service with the 82^nd Airborne in WWII. As we moved the insignia around to find a layout that was visually appealing I noticed engraving on the back of the paratrooper wings. When I took a closer look I could see a full name and date, though it was rather small. I remarked that I was a collector and I'd seen things scratched into the back of wings before, but never professional engraving. The lady smiled and told me that when her husband won his wings, the first thing he did was take them to a jeweler and have his name and the date he won them engraved into the back of his wings.

Named insignia are very rare, and unless the Vet, or his wife, is putting it into your hands, it's more than likely fake. Named Insignia that comes with proof of its origin, especially when grouped with other like items, demand the absolute premium prices on the market.

Serial Numbers

I have never seen a serial number on the back of a US military insignia that was not part of a hallmark, or manufactures code. I'm not saying it hasn't happened, just that I haven't seen it yet, and after all, there is an exception to almost every rule.

Where I have seen the practice most often is foreign jump wings, or parachute qualification badges to be precise. The two most common I have seen are the wings issued to French Paratroopers, and to members of Rhodesia's Selous Scouts. In both cases, the wings issued upon qualification carried a serial number that was entered into the soldier's record. With luck, or the right resources, a collector has the ability to tie the wings to a particular soldier.

Knowing the hallmarks, and how the various systems employed to identify either the manufacturer, and/or the soldier it was issued to, will help you avoid common and expensive errors while building your collection.