For a collector of period items, there is nothing more vexing than a fake offered as an original, vintage item. The higher the rarity, the greater the amount of “fakes” circulate. Although the field of collecting merchant marine insignia is small and insignia is relatively undocumented, spurious items often appear with incorrect attribution. Exploiting this […]
U.S. Maritime Service Chief Petty Officer
U.S. Maritime Service Chief Petty Office cap badge (Type 2a – Variant 1)One-piece construction. Seal, 25mm diameter; Anchor, 50mm length.A. E. Co. (American Emblem Company, Utica, New York) hallmark.Anchor and device stamped nickel; red enamel band and shield.Circa 1942. This is the first example of the second design of the USMS CPO hat badge; the […]
U.S. Maritime Service Chief Petty Officer
U.S. Maritime Service Chief Petty Office hat badge (1st design, 2nd pattern) One piece construction. Seal, 25mm diameter; Anchor, 50mm length. Obscured AE CO N.Y. hallmark (American Emblem Company). Anchor and device stamped nickel; blue enamel band and red, white & blue shield. This is the second pattern of the first design of the USMS […]
U.S. Maritime Service Chief Petty Officer
U.S. Maritime Service Chief Petty Office cap badge (Type 2 – Variant 2) One piece construction. Seal, 25mm diameter; Anchor, 50mm length. Coro (Cohn & Rosenberger) hallmark. Anchor and device stamped brass, sterling plated (marked); red enamel band and shield. Mid-to-post Second World War era; 1942-1947. This is the second design of the USMS CPO […]
U.S. Naval Reserve Insignia reprise
U.S. Naval Reserve Insignia reprise Sometimes the U.S. Navy doesn’t quite get it right. Back in the 1970s CNO Admiral Zumwalt embarked on a noble experiment: for men beards and sideburns were allowed and crackerjacks were removed from an enlisted sailor’s sea chest. A bluejacket could sport sideburns reaching the end of his earlobes, and […]
RRS Shackleton plaque
From the Collection: RRS Shackleton plaque Current ship wardroom plaques, otherwise known as ship’s plaques or ship’s emblems, or formally as ship’s badges came from an old tradition that reaches back to the age of sail. As a means of identification, sailing ships used carved figureheads as a distinguishing feature; however, with the move from […]
British Antarctic Survey
For my son’s completion of his first week of Second Grade, I gave him a small gift: a legal tender coin from the British Antarctic Territory (BAT). He asked me where this place was, and we searched for it in his world atlas and flag gazetteer. Since the international community does not recognize BAT, his […]
no medal for you.
Several years ago, I received a lovely collection of Merchant Marine memorabilia, and was my custom, I queried the sender if there was anything known about the original owner: James Thomas Bowling. For over a month, I had a lively correspondence with the original owner’s son. After a couple of exchanges, he shared a trove […]
Ship’s Sheriff
Army Transport Service (ATS) troopships held crews of considerable size, any large ship with more than a dozen folks was bound to have its share of interpersonal dynamics that might eventually come to blows. And for that, the ATS had a Master-at-arms and an assistant Master-at-arms stationed mostly aboard their troop and hospital ships. The […]
U.S. Navy V-7 program insignia at Columbia and Ft. Schuyler
U.S. Navy V-7 midshipman cap badge.Single piece construction.Fouled anchor; gold-filled.Late Second World War era. Almost twenty years ago I read Herman Wouk’s 1951 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, The Caine Mutiny. Recalling Captain Queeg, ball bearings, and strawberries, I recently decided to re-read the novel. The work fashions a re-creation of the culture of urgency that both […]