Good day all! I'm picking up a militaria lot on Sat. which I won in an estate sale. Most of the items are pretty straightforward, but the 3 brass badges have me at a loss. Are they dragons or griffons with what looks like a spear? The pins seem to be designed to be driven through holes and then peened over. Are they even military? Have any of you seen these before? Also the trench art ashtray, any idea of value? Any input would be most appreciated. Thanks in advance.
Small picture, hard to make out details. Dragon or Gryphon badges usually have a Welsh connection (regimental or paternal organization). Here are some similar but not exact badges from a Welsh regiment.
BRECKNOCKSHIRE, CAP BADGES TITLE UNDER DRAGON ~ so I would say you have collar Badges the Gryphon is an English thing its what I used on my company's letter head when it was active.
BRECKNOCKSHIRE, CAP BADGES TITLE UNDER DRAGON ~ so I would say you have collar Badges the Gryphon is an English thing its what I used on my company's letter head when it was active.
First off, thank you all for your input. I'm positive now that these aren't military at all. From the six pin back, they're designed to be put through something like the old high-domed English bobby helmets and the pins peened over. They're made of lead with a brass coating on the face. The dragon or griffin theme looks very British, but I've no way of knowing if any other countries used it. Sadly, there's no makers marks of any kind that would point me toward the country of origin. I'd picked up a small lot of militaria, the WWII service medal is a common thing but worth a little more now with the increase in silver pricing. The Austrian valour award is more interesting and I'm trying to get an idea of value. There's a Royal Canadian Army Service Corps tie pin and a WWII issue "housewife" (sewing kit), also trying to get a value on.
Those don't go too high, you have a service number and name...you could look him up.
Hey Jim! I did a cursory search just to see if his name and service number came up. Nothing doing. I'd have to do some real digging to come up with something. The government only releases information to actual kin it would seem. I cleaned up the Austrian medal to get a better look at the detail. Other than the grimy ribbon, the medal itself is lovely. The detail shows no handling wear and or contact damage, so it's a very nice example of it's type.
Shameful indeed, but no less so than the German treatment of the Belgians in WWI and the atrocities committed by the Nazis, Russians, Japanese, etc. In spite of its provenance, it is a very nice example of the medals of it's type.