Hungary Hungarian Cap Badge

[Guest Rick Research]

I blame Ulsterman's baleful personal influence-- especially when we are pawing through the same Tupperware containers of miscellaneous "stuff."

What is this cap badge, and how old is it? made entirely of steel, gilded and enamelled. It's about 40mm high from the tip of the star to the base of the tricolor riband. 34mm across the mid-wreath, 37mm across ends of the tricolor riband. It is highly vaulted, with the star affixed on the "nipple" of the basic badge.

I'm a babe in the woods with this new area-- and just lured in by the quality of the enamel!!!

Ah-- just found one--

http://gmic.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=19103

so-- this is an army officer's cap badge? But of slightly different stamping than the one Gordon shows (no mirror image rifles viewed from the back because these rifles are a separate piece soldered onto a flat rifles shaped base). Does the steel mean it is earlier? Soviet insignia went to nasty anodized aluminum in the 1960s....

[Gordon Craig]

Rick,

The badge you pictured is for the police. I had a project going on Hungarian cap badges but got sidetracked into something else. I must have put the cap badges away somewhere very safe because I haven't been able to find them this evening. I'll look tomorow and see what I can come up with. As for time frame between the two different stampings? Who knows. There is no info on this kind of thing for Hungarian Police. Beyond that I can not offer anything. Perhaps in the future? I have planned to go to the police museum for months but haven't been able to find the time.

So many dealers here move cap badges around from hat to hat that it very difficult to work out when a badge is on a correct hat. A lot of items come through the flea market route and people who know nothing about caps or badges put together some really wierd combinations. I have reasonably good reference stuff for military caps but that is it.

Regards,

Gordon

Edited July 1, 2007 by Gordon Craig

[Guest Rick Research]

And sometimes the reference books get things wrong, which clouds the issue for us, too. Tokar's Soviet Police book has some extreme errors, and the "Kokardy" pamphlet on Soviet cap badges plays wild and loose with dates, too.

I wondered about construction/metal dating possibilities because the Soviets went over to cheaper materials in the mid 1960s. They at least had the helpful habit of dating their buttons so there wouldn't be any dfiddling with contract numbers delivered and Official Wear Out Periods!

[Ulsterman]

ooops- my error. I thought it was a pre 1956 army officers' cap badge.

[buellmeister]

Good to see you Gents today. You were like two kids in a candy store pawing through the Tupperware I may add... I personally, found Nada and went home empty handed. Well I guess you win some them lose some.. Sob.. Sob...

Regards,

Joel

Edited July 2, 2007 by buellmeister