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Title US Army Inspector General's collar badge, bronze
Nationality American
Period c 1914-18
Sold

This little badge (1" high) is marked 'J.R.GAUNT LONDON' on the reverse. These were worn on the stand-up close collar of the period tunics. This must be one of the rarer departmental badges of the US Army from this period, as this would have been one of the smallest branches.

It would appear that these only appeared with a dark bronze finish in WW1. The information above comes from Encyclopedia of US Army insignia and uniforms by William K. Emerson (seen on the web only).

It would appear to be a cast bronze badge in a dark chocolate finish (if polished this would be either a pink or yellow colour, depending on the amount of zinc in the mix). There is a hinge pin in white metal on the reverse. The loop for the pin is somewhat distorted, but essentially the piece is in excellent condition, given its age.

Prov: from the J.R. Gaunt & Son Ltd. Pattern Book Archive, sold at auction by order of the National Army Museum, London.

If you want to comment on this item—re quality, age, etc—please email me.


[Militaria : Badges : American : 20th Century]

testimonials

I received the book yesterday and I must say I am delighted with it, a cracking piece of work ... A very big thank you for perservering and getting the book to me, a big thumbs up for you and your business.

C B, UK, 05.01.2006

Found the item a little on the expensive side and a bit disappointed that you were unwilling to bend a bit on the price of the Officer's Tunic Eagle (half the fun of buying, after all, is the haggling), but impressed by the speed of delivery and the quality of the item. Was well worth it in the long run...

G F, UK, 30.08.2005

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