USV 1898 Marksmans' badge (17 years)

[Ulsterman]

I got this Sunday. Alas, in the gloom of the church hall what I thought was silver and a US Spanish war vet'erans medal was instead made of bronze and has a "17 years" button at the middle bar.

Still, a very nice piece, unusual roundhere and I am happy.

Does anyone have any specific information regarding this? I suspect it is a U.S. yoemanry marksmans' badge @1900, but I would be absurdly grateful if someone could tell me more.

The photo below is borrowed for academic purposes only from the US9NYGR regiment website.

My eternal thanks.

Edited May 31, 2006 by Ulsterman

[JBFloyd]

New York Small Arms Practice Badge (Type 3, for those who collect such things). This design came in about 1899 and was awarded through 1913.

There were bars for "Sharpshooter", "Expert", "18 - USV - 98" and "18 - USN - 98", plus year bars for the three qualification levels. The "18 - USV - 98" bar was for those with Army service in the Spanish American War. The "18 - USN - 98" bar was for Navy service, and is not often seen.

There are other variations in the top bar:

"Champion Marksman" in silver, for enlisted men who had the highest scores in annual qualifications.

""State Team" in silver (as is the whole badge), awarded with bars for the years the man qualified for the state team.

While antique dealers usually get excited about the Tiffany mark on these badges, Tiffany was the most prolific maker. Badges by other makers are far scarcer.

[Ulsterman]

Thankee kindly Mr. Floyd! It's quite a nice piece with a bit of history to it then.

[JBFloyd]

Here are a couple of State Team badges, which illustrate a couple of variations.

The early badges have "NY" in the center of the year bar; later badges have either "Mil" or "Civ" on the year bar.

Edited May 31, 2006 by JBFloyd