German Sports Badges 1913-1945

[Rick Research]

Is there any interest out there in this broad topic? I have long been interested in correcting published errors regarding regulations for bestowal of the different grades of the various issues, as well as the total numbers of each types' grades.

Luckily, the award booklets for all these National awards not only bear the centrally issued consecutive serial number for each award, but also give the most important regulations in the original German, making sorting out bad information published in English correctable, from the original sources.

Some basic research, standing on the shoulders of the late Dr. Klietmann:

DRA National Sports Badges (1913-14, 1919-34)--
bronze: approx. 248,000
silver: approx. 9,200
gold: approx 4,200

DRL National Sports Badges (1934-37)--
bronze: approx 431,000
silver: approx 14,300
gold: approx 7,000

DRL National Sports Badge with Swastika (1937-45)--
bronze: approx 1 million
silver: approx 31,500
gold: approx 15,000

Luckily, these are all numbered consecutively within each grade, so that DRL with swastika badge in gold # 20,204 issued on 4 January 1943 was the 20,204th GOLD badge awarded since 1913 (or 1919).

Dr Klietmann published annual and even by gender award figures for 1913-1928 under his treatment of the DRA badges, his catalog #s Jc 9 21 -11, -12, -13.

Numbers from subsequent years are estimated based on these years and on serial numbers observed on later award documents.

See the separate SA Sports Badges topics.

Likewise, annual figures for the German Rider's Badge are available from 1930-42--
bronze: 82,000
silver: 7,700
gold: 250

again from Dr Klietmann's research in the 1950s.

Published English language assertions that the different grades of these equestrian badges were for completely distinct types of events I cannot confirm or deny, having never seen an award booklet, which should bear the actual German regulations.

Can anyone with original award booklets show regulations and confirm or alter any of the above numbers?

[Rick Research]

Here is a Gold DRA badge, what I suspect (have been unable as yet to verify) is one of the original 118 awarded 1913-1914, before the war stopped bestowals until 1919--

(Three scans edited back in from former image hosting site 082303 below. Obverse)

the reverse bears the maker's name, Eugen Marcus, as "Hofjuwelier" or Court Jeweler--

(Reverse scan 2nd below)

the 0900 silver mark is most unusual.

(hallmark closeup 3rd below)

the only other real silver sports badge that I have seen was the German Rider's Badge.

[Rick Research]

By contrast, here is the longest awarded German sports badge, the DRA Bronze (1913-14, 1919-34).

(Former image hosting site scans replaced 082303. Obverses of broinze DRA in metal and cloth scan 1 below, reverses scan 2, and comparing bronze with gold classes scan 3)

This one was made by Wernstein of Jena, probably the most prolific maker of the National badges.With the BeVo version of the same award, for wear on the thigh of athletic shorts:

When ordering badges from the issuing authority--these had to be purchased by the recipients--a miniature was also available. I have seen some in normal stickpin mode and others with a tiny pin on back in a literal duplicate of the full sized badge.

In the 17 years this grade was bestowed, it was only awarded half as many times as the intermediate 1934-37 DRL without swastika version between the DRA and DRL with swastika type badges.

[rkoy]

yes rick im getting real interested in these type of badges as they are fairly common and not that expensive YET! bot the 3 types of sa badges the drl, dra or whatever confuses me. i have several of these in bronze and one in silver could you help on how to ID which type is which thanks rodney koy rkoy

[Frank Heukemes]

Hi Rick,

You are right with your Golden DRA by Eugen Marcus, Hofjuwelier being one of the rare ones that was awarded until WWI broke loose. If you are wrong about that, then Hüsken is wrong with you. In his 1999 reviewed catalogue on page 42, he claims that all DRAs that were awarded before 1914 were made exclusively by that maker. By the way, as a price he just lists an asterisk for extreme rarity with no market prices available. Silver would be DM 350, Bronze DM 75. He does not say anything about the gold class being real silver, but he rarely mentions those silver marks in his catalogue anyway, that is more Detlev´s speciality
I am envious! I took a certain liking to those badges since I got one from my grandfather. Quite common but beautiful and a lot of variations to collect.

Cheers, Frank

[Rick Research]

I have alwaays liked the award documents, since they contained a photograph and biographical information.

The 1943 Gold DRL with Swastika that I quote above used to be in my collection. It was awarded to an army pharmacist captain, age 52, on the staff of a POW Camp in Berlin, whose reward for his athletic vigor was--to be shipped to the Russian Front! Stapled in back was a slip from his CO that he had just been "transfereed East" and so his whereabouts were unknown to the Camp authorities!

I also had a DRA award book to a Reichsheer NCO who could have been Arnold Schwarzenegger's papa: Athletic club affiliation "German Boxers' Association" was no surprise-- the guy was a quartermaster's nightmare, since all his uniforms obviously had to be hand tailored to fit!

As the only German badges whose award papers bore a photograph, these are always nice to find in a group with EKs and so on.

[Frank Heukemes]

It is a shame you do not own that golden badge anymore, Rick. I hope it went for a good price or some good Spangen.
Here is one of the miniature pins you mentioned (with swastika but the ones without also exist). Note that on pin miniatures the letters DRL were never cut out but with "background" instead. Some big ones also have this background, but it seems they are not official:

Reverse has Wernstein Jena maker´s mark
[img]http://communities.msn.com/_Secure/0MwBkb*0QzZYjwBPSozugbp95zEGaD2EXUTwdiC6xTIbzYIYlO cfURy0i8vxSgNnmYp6A!0Dwjrx!lKIJIl5FsA/P1080056.jpg[/img]
Cheers, Frank

[Frank Heukemes]

Rick mentions that the only other real silver sports badge he has seen is the silver rider´s badge. Here is an example. These also exist in lesser metals with silver wash. This one is real silver, see silver mark "990" on reverse bottom left side.
Cheers, Frank
[img]http://communities.msn.com/_Secure/0MwAAAPYQo5UjwBPSozugbni3S1*uIzKiZHZtr9GCnnY9kLpqn !E9Wp9tVdBJCbbMv8ckcJagMuiCq!PLNAxUrQ/P1080013.jpg[/img]

[img]http://communities.msn.com/_Secure/0MwAAAPgQ95UjwBPSozugbocoVBhilGPCxDZMbWc0kpKH40nbO NybZZSGJKenzbA8XzlDd4679CpjIThuOj*PdQ/P1080015.jpg[/img]

[ 08 January 2002: Message edited by: Munich ]

[Rick Research]

Thanks for sharing your wonderful real silver German Rider's Badge, Frank!

I don't know if these were early, or special presentation pieces, or simply deluxe private purchase versions.

The last seems unlikely, or many of the other badges would be found in "swank" deluxe versions as well.

Maybe this was given to Olympic equestrians?...

Unfortunately all of my sports badges except DRA bronze and silver-gilt, a DRL with swastika in gold (see RAD medal bar group posted under "Wehrmacht" Medal Bars II thread), and two 1st Type SA badges are long gone.

I had a silver German Horseman's Badge like Frank's, but it was a wartime made piece in a gunmetal black alloy with a horrible bubbly spritzed on finish. Incredibly rare, given the plummeting numbers awarded as the war went on, but I practically had to pay the eventual buyer to take it, it was so ugly!

I also had a tie clasp made with DRA bronze and silver sports badges and a DRL with swastika in gold minis! THAT was a proud long term requalifier!

[stuart c]

Just got this DRA from a guy in Germany,I bid on it as a bronze but it looks like a gold to me (the auction photo was pretty poor).What do you think ?,are these badges faked ?,either way it only cost $18.

[Klaus O.]

Frank,

I did really like your silver rider's badge. I saw also one on sale on Detlev's webpage some weeks ago... marked 990! Did you buy it from him? I was just wondering! I think that it was sold for around DEM 300.- (USD 150.-).

Ciao,

Claudio

[Frank Heukemes]

Dear Claudio,

I enjoy shopping at Detlev´s but that silver Reiterabzeichen I didn´t get from him. This time I got the advantage over the dealer, who obviously didn´t see the silver mark (the badge was very dirty and grimy). I also just found it at home after cleaning. What a surprise! I bought it together with the Flugzeugführer-Abzeichen that is also in discussion right now at a kind of gold/silver trader pawnshop in Karlsruhe Germany right after Xmas. This Gold/Silver guy should have known, hehe. But the badge was just as dirty as his shop

Cheers, Frank

[Frank Heukemes]

Hi Stuart,

Yours is a DRA opposed to the DRLs, the popular maker Wernstein shows that it was awarded after 1918, only the ones like the DRA badge pictured by Rick were awarded before 1914 (it depends on the maker). Between 1914 and 1918 none were awarded. Your badge seems ok and indeed Gold class and you got it at an awesome price.
Anybody with a DRL without swastika so I can compare to mine? That Swastika tip on my bothers me.

Cheers, Frank

[Rick Research]

Stuart... sorry for the delay, but this is the first time I have been able to see your scans download. They take forever!

I suspect that what you have is a polished bronze. It is not always easy to tell with scans, because there is slight color distortion.

Leave your badge absolutely untouched, and if you see it begin "dulling down" after a few months ( I see some touches of that in the upper obverse letters), it will soon regain its patina like the bronze I illustrated above. The gold ones will NEVER need to be polished: they have a permanent matte finish. If it "shines up gold" it is a polished bronze.

Still a darned good price, even for a bronze! Rick

[Klaus O.]

Rick, Stuart,

I remember when I was 15 (1983-4) and I picked a Sportabz. in Bronze in a local flew/antiques market in Switzerland for about 2.- Swiss Francs (about USD 1.30)! Now also these badges are beginning to get more and more expensive... Do you know if there are already repros sold as originals. I do know that there is a dealer selling them as repros for re-enactors (link www.soldat.com).

Ciao,

Claudio