British cap badge advice

[Levesque]

Hi Guys,
I would like to start collecting WW2 British cap badges ( royal tank regiment ) and was wondering if any of the experienced collectors might be willing to share alittle advice before I jump in to the mix Any and all comments are welcome and thanks in advance.
Sincerely..Dan

[Cam_S]

Taking the plunge

Hello,

All I can say is get out while you can......... Just joking.

Find as much referance material as possible, read it and memorize it and start off small so if some one does burn you, it won't be for alot of money (it has happened to everyone).

Hope this helps,

Cam

[Levesque]

That was fast ! Thanks for the fast and quick advice Cam. I'm used to buying Third Reich combat badges and these are heavily faked...are these British cap badges also reproduced?
P.S. any books that you might recommend?

[Adam H]

Hi Dan,

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news but there are many (MANY) restrikes of British Badges out there. Some of these were made on the original dies so very difficult to differentiate from the originals. Some were even made many decades ago, so are "old" in their own right but still differ from the 1st issues.

There are lots of good ones around mind you so don't be too discouraged. To start collecting anything along these lines you need to do your homework, invest in some decent reference books, and don't be afraid to ask questions. You will find there is a lot of knowledge about British items here on the forum.

Cheers,

Adam

[max7474]

My advice would be to find a collector who has a large amount of originals and have a look at them in detail Some copies are so good that unless you see them next to an original it is difficult to tell the difference. I can't see that there are a huge amount of sellers in the US and ebay is full of crooks 90% are fakes and there are sellers in ebayUK who regularly sell the same rare badges time and again. Without wanting todiscouarge it is very easy for new collectors to get ripped off for alot of cash.

[Levesque]

Thanks guys for all your help Unfortuately I live in a small town in upstate NY and can only find cap badges through the internet so it looks like I need to buy some reference books and start reading some threads. Too bad about the restrikes being so numerous, but I'm used to it from collecting TR combat badges
Sincerely...Dan

[max7474]

Why not collect anodised staybrites - cheap, available and not faked. (well I did oce see a very bad attempt at an East lancashire Regt one). Ebay lots in particular are full of dodgy selllers and dealers website prices are quite daft at times.

[hagwalther]

Why not collect anodised staybrites - cheap, available and not faked. (well I did oce see a very bad attempt at an East lancashire Regt one). Ebay lots in particular are full of dodgy selllers and dealers website prices are quite daft at times.

Hooray !!!, a fellow staybrite collector - I have approx. 360 different British Army ones and if you want original items they are the way to go and have been in existance for 50 odd years now.

I collect Third Reich Iron Crosses and Assault badges but pre staybrite British Army cap badges scare me ridgid.

Regards ...