AJHaslett

Yeah, I still don't trust anything from east of the Oder. Old habits die hard I guess.

Ahhh I see (I think), neato. Thanks Rick. Poor little badge never had a chance. I wonder why they would have done this, unless it was flawed or something as you say. However with the rest of the badge still solid I wonder if there were other reasons. Perhaps the original owner was an ueber-commie...hence the double hammer and sickle...and a demented hater of wreaths

Dave, Very interesting and excellent information. I have some interest in Baden units, especially the 169th and 170th IR as they were from the area of Baden I once lived in. Sadly, I highly doubt I will ever own the medals of any of these recipients, but we can continue to dream as they say! Thanks for sharing! Adam

Hiya Rick, It's been bloody freezing here indeed. I've been confined to the indoors for the most part this winter as I'm recovering from a bad injury, I guess the timing for it was as good as possible! Thanks for your help with this badge. When you say ghosts...do you mean the outer edges of the globe? There is embroidery there and different coloured thread which sort of looks like it may have resembled a small wreath there, however, I can see no sign that there was ever anything between the globe and the large outer wreath. I've looked closely with a loupe and can't see that the wook backing cloth has any stitch holes in the centre at all. There is evidcence of stitch holes and a small bit of thread on the edge of the badge suggesting it was removed from a cap. What's a fair asking price or trade value in your opinion? Probably going to take it to a swop meet soon.

Have a couple more enroute...will see about doing some more detailed posts on some of the nicer ones I have if there is interest in these...

I've posted this shot before elsewhere, but here are a few from my collection...WWI and WWII examples...mostly separated from groups I have. Cheers, Adam

Takc, Thanks for the links...some insignia that are similar but still no match. I would be surprised if this was not WWII or earlier since it came with a WWII veteran's souvenirs and everything else is from that period. Gerd, Hi! Nice to see you too. I'll do my best at continuing my Chief Bottle Washer duties here! I've attached a close up pic of the globe. As you can see it is indeed round but the threads on the left and right sides have darken/worn so it is not as apparent as in the other photos. I'll be interested to hear from other members if they have seen another example like this or can positively ID it. What should I ask for it as far as trade value? Cheers, Adam

In the meantime I've brightened the photo I attached earlier so the detail can be seen somewhat better. As should be evident, although there is some wear, the badge is complete and in solid condition, no mothing or anything. It simply shows its age. If I had to guess I would say mine is an earlier example as the quality of construction is very high and resembles that of Imperial German and early Third Reich pieces, and early 20th Century and Victorian British and Commonwealth officers' badges.

No there is no damage to the badge, it's all intact. There is no evidence of anything missing as the remainder of the badge is in very good condition, and I am very familiar with wire badges (just not Russian ones!) Just a different badge than yours and probably one you have not seen before. You are correct the bottom H&S is over the globe, it is just very small. Sounds like it's probably associated with the River Fleet organization, but it's strange there is no star on the top. I will try to get some better pics, but the light here is not very good right now and the flash on my camera is not cooperating.

Hi again, The globe on mine is smaller, but it is there if you look closely. The hammer and sickle on my globe is almost as big as the the globe itself. Also, there is no "wreath" around it like on yours... Would you say this is WWII period then? How scarce are these and any idea on a value?

Hi, Well your badge resembles this one, but not an exact match as far as I can see. Mine has a hammer and sickle at the top and not a star, like on yours. It's not damaged and appears to be complete as far as I can tell. There is some wear but overall condition is very good. Perhaps mine is a variant...or from a different period?

Here is a view of the reverse of the badge in question. Cheers, Adam

Hello everyone, Some of you will know me from other forums. I joined GMIC awhile back but have been extremely busy as of late and not had time to participate very much. Hoping that will change now that things are a bit more calm for me. I'll do a proper intro soon and show some of my collection in the appropriate categories. In any case I received this badge recently along with some British and Canadian WWII items. I have searched the net with the hope of positively identifying it, to no avail. It's clearly a navy (or naval related) cap insignia, but I have not seen an exact match. It's very nicely made in gold wire (bullion type) thread on a black wool backing. It's backed by an off-white backing material and is heavily padded giving it a rather 3-dimensional appearance. I'm guessing WWII or earlier Soviet Navy Officer but would appreciate input from members as I am a bit out of my depths here. Thanks in advance for the help. Adam