Collecting Military Insignia: Tips and Tests to Aid in Authentication

Is it real? This is the ultimate question a collector must ask themselves when about to acquire a new insignia. Most collectors arrive at a decision after they employ several tests that have been standard in the hobby for some years, and using of their personal knowledge and experience. I can explain the tests, and ad to your knowledge of the hobby. Gaining experience will be up to you.

Quality Control

Genuine US military insignia has generally been of high quality from at least the inter-war time period (1920's-1930's). It is due to this quality and the efforts of past collectors to document legitimate variation's, that today even a novice collector can often spot a fake without the use of any further tests.

The rule of thumb here is pretty simple when you're dealing with most US cloth insignia from the 1930's on. It's all about the actual quality. The lettering and numbering, if any, should be clear, and well formed. Lines should be straight and consistent. Objects such as animals, lightning bolts, or swords should be clear and well done. Until you have gained enough experience to be able to spot legitimate variations in quality, when offered an insignia that does not pass the quality control test, just say "no thanks" and walk away.

The UV Light Test

Before we go here, a warning. UV light, even the artificial variety I will be discussing here, can be harmful. Do some research and decide for yourself if you wish to use this test.

Ultra Violet Light, or as more commonly known, "Black Light" has some interesting properties, not so much as what the UV light does, but what it causes other things to do, namely glow. One of the things UV Light makes glow is synthetic fibers. The presence, or absence of these fibers will help determine when an insignia was manufactured.

Before 1968, give or take a few years, US military insignia was manufactured almost exclusively with cotton thread. After 1968 almost all US cloth insignia was manufactured with synthetic thread, and fortunately for the collector, so was pretty much all of the fake WWII insignia. While this is not a perfect test due to a few factors that I will discuss a little later, it nevertheless is a tool that can be very helpful.

First off you need a UV light source. My current source is a small UV flashlight that I found on eBay a few years ago for $5.99 with free shipping. Currently pet urine detectors seem pretty popular as UV light sources.

Once you've got a light source, you need a dark place. Until you get the hang of how things "look" under UV light, the darker the spot the better. This test works best when white is a color involved, though with practice it won't matter. The first few times you do this test you should also have a "control" patch, one that you know is of recent manufacture so you can readily see the difference.

Once you have a light source, a dark place, the insignia in question, and a control insignia, you're set. Set the two insignia next to each other, turn off the lights, turn on your UV source, and take a look. The control should be glowing. If the insignia in question is flat with no glow, more than likely it was produced before the late 60's. With practice you will not need a control patch, or darkness, dim will do just fine.

This test is a handy tool, but as I've mentioned, not foolproof. There are several instances in which a legitimate WWII era patch will glow under UV light. The most common instance is the use of some laundry detergents. Several detergents contain a chemical that will impart a phosphorescence, and make everything it is on glow under UV light. One way I have seen this happen is when an amateur collector "cleans up" dingy or dirty insignia. They think they are doing a good thing, but they are not doing anyone a favor, so you amateurs out there: if it's dingy and dirty, leave it that way.

Burn Test

This is a destructive test, and as it name implies, involves fire. Before you do this one guys make sure that an adult, like your wife, knows what's going on just in case you set something else, like yourself, on fire. I'm just kidding, it's really not that bad, but it is what's referred to as a "destructive test", meaning that something is getting destroyed, in this case a thread.

Again we are trying to determine if something is made with cotton or synthetic thread. What you need here is a thread from the insignia and fire source such as a match or lighter. Tease or cut a loose thread from the insignia, most have several "Irish Pennants" hanging off them anyway. While holding one end of the thread in a pair of tweezers, set the other end on fire. One of two things will happen: It will either turn into a gob of goo, or it will turn to ash. Goo means its synthetic thread, ash means its cotton.

Many of us experienced collectors have carried out this test omitting the part about separating the thread from the insignia. We have just lit up the handiest stray thread, and made the call. I would advise against doing this, do as I say, not as I've done.

The "Gut" Test

This one is difficult to quantify, but at some point your gut will start talking to you. In my case, after handling a few hundred military insignia, a little voice started coming into play now and then. It wasn't a "it's good, buy now" voice, but rather a "something is wrong here" voice. The voice and the reasons for the warning are all at the subconscious level, so I don't know if it was the feel of the patch between my fingers, the patina on the jumpwings, or one of a hundred other factors. But when I hear that voice I say "no thanks" and walk away without any regrets.

There you have it, a few more tools for your toolbox. So continue to pursue you passion, and collect away. Remember we are all still learning, even us old timers of the hobby, so continue to build your knowledge base, and get experience under your belt as you can.