Fake Badges - Part 1

This document is an introduction to identifying reproduction badges from the genuine item and is created to assist the badge collector to avoid being mislead. When examining badges, from experience it is essential to examine the back in great detail as that's the best place to detect a fake. The back tends to be the giveaway. Badges with enamel have also been faked but these are easier to detect. The enamel is usually very rough or has been painted. It should also be noted that both hat badges and collar badges (especially from the 1930-42 period) have been faked. The 1930-42 period appears to have the most amount of fake badges but fakes do exist from other periods so be careful!

Now on to some pictures....

The following are 1930-42 period 6th Light Horse (New South Wales Mounted Rifles) hat badges. This is quite a rare and expensive badge. The top two pictures show a fake oxidised badge while the bottom two show the genuine (white metal) badge.

The front of the genuine badge is a slightly more sharper strike then the fake badge. The back is what gives it away as a fairly obvious fake. The back is flat and appears to be made of a softer and thicker metal. The lugs are also a different shape to the real badge. If dropped, the real badge makes a tinny sound while the fake badge makes more of a thud. The real badge also has a sharp strike on the back of the badge.

The next two badges show a slightly better fake. The badges are the 11th Light Horse (Darling Downs Light Horse)  Regiment from the 1930-42 period. The oxidised one on the right is a fake.

If you compare the two badges, the front of the fake badge looks good. It has a good strike (as good as the original) but the giveaway is the back and sides. The fake badge is slightly thicker and not even in thickness. As the 11th LH badge is a thin badge made from light weight metal the thickness cast some suspicion on the oxidised badge. When dropped, the oxidised makes makes a more of a thud than a tinny ring (like the real 11th LH badge).

The main giveaway is the back of the badge - the strike on the back is imperfect and the lugs are different. The two areas that draw suspicion to this badge is the scroll on the bottom and the right hand side of the crown. Both these areas show where the strike is not perfect and leave a flatter area rather than an impressed one. This is an example of a slightly harder to detect badge.

The next badge is another very rare badge - the 25th Light Horse (Machine Gun) Regiment badge from the 1930-42 period. It is one that has been faked. The genuine badge has a makers name stamped on the backed in raised lettered plus the detail on the front and back is sharp. The badge is 2 piece and the machine gun has good detailing to it (see below).

This badge (above) is easy to identify as a fake - the back of the badge is rough and lacks a maker's name. The front of the badge appears to be one piece and also lacks the details of the genuine badge.

The above 25th Light Horse badge is interesting - I believe that it may be a fake but it's owner and other collectors think it may be real. The back of the badge has a maker's name but it is impressed rather than raised and the front of the badge, especially the machine gun lack detail yet the strike is pretty good. Could this be an example of a undocumented variation or a well made fake? You be the judge as the author is not 100% certain. This illustrates the need for close examination when collecting badges.

The above badge illustrates an obvious fake 25th Light Horse badge: wrong colour, wrong back and one piece!


More fake badges can be found below...

 Fake Badges - Part 2

 Fake Badges - Part 3