Show your best WWI cut out Wound Badge

[Fred Borgmann]

Finally as an Easter treat for all you cutout lovers a black chaplain's wound badge.

[Clete Erickson]

Screwback Wound Badge

Here is my screwback wound badge - Front. The spot on the rear of the screw plate is from a sticker the vendor had on it indicating the price.

[Clete Erickson]

And the back.

[McCulloh]

Fred:
You do know about the "Chaplains badges" don't you?
JeMc

[Fred Borgmann]

Jeff, all I know is that the chaplains badge is not an official wound badge. Sounds like you can tell us more and since I posted a picture here please do. Fred

[Mike Kenny]

Hi Fred,

It is not a Chaplain's Wound Badge or any sort of official award, WW1, WW2 or otherwise. In Hamelman's "German Wound Badges" he presents some research done in Germany by a Herr Gerd M. Schultz. The latter found out that a large stock of genuine 1939 BLACK wound badges had been stored in a monastery (Kloster Weingarten near Bodensee). To raise money for repairs to the monastery, they cut out the centre of the badges and added the cross between 1946 and 1948 (no silver or gold are mentioned as either being in the monastery or having been converted). The only numbers of cenverted crosses given is "several hundred" so in that respect they are uncommon. Hamelman even states that they are being faked (cast repros)!!

Regards
Mike K

PS: I have one as well, bought full well knowing the story. Some people dismiss them as "repros", but personally I think they have some historical value and are collectable.

[Fred Borgmann]

Thanks Mike! That's neat. I think that makes these badges much more historically interesting than if they were just some privately made fantasy like I thought they were. Now that you mention it they are obviously made from a WWII era wound badge. Thanks again, Fred

[Eric K.]

I know this is an old thread.

How common are the cut outs? and if they werent officialy issued did the soldiers cut them out,jeweler etc...
Very nice badges by the way!!

[Tim B.]

My contribution...

Here's a nice silver screwback.
Tim