An Alert: Original Dies for British Army Cap Badges could Potentially prove Troublesome

Currently on e-Bay, and up for auction, are no less than three complete tool and die sets for the manufacture of vintage, i.e. rare British Army cap badges. These include the Highland Cyclist Battalion, The Queen’s Bays (2^nd Dragoon Guards), and The Royal Scots. In addition to the specific auction of these three, a photograph is shown of two shelves of over 100 other boxed sets of tool and die sets for a wide variety of British Army regiments including The Parachute Regiment and the Special Air Service Regiment. Where appropriate both the King’s and Queen’s crown configurations are included. The auction description states that sets are “Suitable for stamping, clipping and piercing badges in the traditional manufacturing manner as used for  producing for the MoD in the pre-staybrite era.” All came from a former badge manufacturing contractor based in  Birmingham’s Jewellery quarter. Some of the dies are marked "G & N", which in all probability stands for Gladman & Norman, founded in 1910 a very well established, renowned manufacturer of military badges located in Birmingham. During the height of production in World War II the company produced over 300,000 badges annually. The company effectively ceased badge production when the MoD transitioned to anodized aluminum "staybrite" badges in the 1950's.

Discernible in the last photograph, in a cursory inspection, are die sets for the following cap badges (not in any specific order):

King’s Own Scottish Borderers

Royal Welsh Fusiliers
The Welsh Horse Yeomanry*

Cheshire Regiment

King’s Liverpool Regiment

Edinburgh UTC

The Wiltshire Regiment (Duke of Edinburgh’s)

Royal Army Ordnance Corps

Royal Army Service Corps

Royal Army Pay Corps

Royal Army Veterinarian Corps (QC)

Parachute Regiment Collar Dogs*

The Green Howards

North Irish Horse (KC)*

12th Lancers (KC)* 

16th/5th Lancers (QC)*

13th/18th Royal Hussars*

Hertfordshire Regiment

The Durham Light Infantry

Royal Corps of Signals

Royal Fusiliers

The King’s Shropshire Light Infantry

Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers

Special Air Service Regiment*

Military Provost Staff Corps Collar Dogs

Parachute Regiment (KC & QC)*

Royal Horse Artillery

Fire Service War Dept

Based on this author's limited knowledge, in addition to the Highland Cyclist Battalion, the asterisked badges would be highly probable as candidates for reproduction as restrikes.

Although obviously not of the same concern as sets to produce law enforcement badges (obsolete or not), there has been immediate understandable discussion in the badge forums regarding the potential nefarious use of these dies to produce reproductions of certain rare and/or sought after badges. Based on forum discussion to date there is nothing illegal in the possession of the die sets, however it would only take a No. 3 Fly Press (not a massive investment) to actually produce any badges (combined with the requisite metal blanks in the correct metallurgy and gauge).

It is intriguing to see the complete die sets in and of themselves, but in addition, this article is primarily intended as an alert to all collectors that at some future point in time “rare” badges produced from these genuine original dies may show up anyplace from Bosley’s, Wallis & Wallis, or Sotheby’s, to e-Bay, as the real thing.