RZM marked bakelite DAF buttons

[Avitas]

Hello gentlemen,

OK, so I know these aren't the Knight's Cross or anything, but I thought they were unique and not very common when I saw them today. They are some type of uniform button for the DAF, and they are RZM marked with the stamp and a number 3 on all three of them. Is this normal for this type of organization to have its buttons RZM marked? Also, what is the significance of the "3". This seems like a trivial item to be officially marked by the party. Perhaps these were for a special uniform or a higher-up, but I really do not know. They are made of "bakelite" plastic I believe and are very crisply detailed. Anyone have some info or answers on these buttons out there?

Cheers and thanks in advance!

Pat

[Avitas]

Here are the reverses, with the RZM 3 markings.

[Avitas]

Here is a close-up of the front and back of this DeutscheArbeitsFront button for reference. Any help on the previous asked questions or any other pertinent information is very helpful!

Cheers,

Pat

[Gold Party Pin Guy]

The DAF was officially a Party formation (technically an "Additional Affiliated NSDAP Organization"), and as such all of its insignia after 1934 was subject to RZM controls and marking.

Buttons (even bakelite) had an RZM M5 license code. The "3" is likely the manufacturer license number, in which case it would stand for Brauckmann & Proebsting, Ludenscheid. Because there is no M5 prefix, it is an early one (very late 1934 - early 1935).

Edited November 8, 2006 by Gold Party Pin Guy

[Avitas]

Thank you Stephen for that great information

I was wondering what uniform these would have been worn on in the DAF, if anyone can help out please do. Also, are these fairly common or hard to find? I don't imagine they would be very valuable (I paid like 7 bucks each for them, probably too much, but I like to support my local antique store) but they are a neat little item to have in the collection.

Cheers and thanks again,

Pat