PAB R.S.

[Skarp]

I've come to this forum in a round-about way. I originally was drawn to the GMIC purely for the history. This place is a veritable gold mine of information. I have been registered here, and lurking about for a couple years. Because my primary interest is Imperial Germany it took me a while to start poking around in the 3rd Reich forums. When I did I saw the  tremendous collections some of the members have aquired. It made me remember that I had a small collection of my own from a brief period when I was much younger.

When I was in high school in 1964 I had several friends that were interested in the World Wars. One of them found an add for medals in the back of some magazine, and we sent off for a catalog. We received the "catalog" (several sheets of paper folded in half and stapled to create a mailable flyer). It was a very extensive listing of 3rd Reich medals, badges and some other items. Some were labeled as reproductions, most were not. I ordered a EK2, a PAB (Bronze), an IAB (Bronze), and  repo Wound Badge in Black. I also got a Narvik Shield. None of the items was more than $5 - $8. The order came to us from an address in Lichtenstein.

I have always kept them in a sturdy box (originally a necklace box, I think) that has spent most years at the bottom of one drawer or another. My wife is of Polish descent, and her parents were both Poles that were displaced by WWII. A tasteful display was not an option. So they sat mostly forgotten.

When I started looking around in here, I discovered that there were "maker's marks", which made me curious, as I had never really looked at the back of my PAB (I can just see the eyes rolling in disgust right about now). Mine is an "R.S." (angular). Somehow, finding that information gave me a great deal of satisfaction. This old badge that had been sitting anonymously in a box for 50 years suddenly had a place in history. I think that is the kind of "Eureka!" moment that fuels the serious collector to seek the story behind the object.

The pictures were taken with my iPhone. I do not have a camera at present. I will post pictures of my IAB in a separate post.

Proud to be part of such a knowledgeable and civilized community.