B&NL Coastal Artillery Badge - Is This the Only Known Example?

[Colorado]

Hi Norm - Thanks for bringing the thread up again. That was an interesting find.

As we know, I no longer own the badge, but the pin and catch on the KA badge look like wartime construction and the APB looks like post-war Souval hardware, no?

[Norm F]

As we know, I no longer own the badge, but the pin and catch on the KA badge look like wartime construction and the APB looks like post-war Souval hardware, no?

Hi Jeff,

Absolutely, the Coastal Artillery badge is a wartime-compatible S&L, unlike the clearly post-war Souval APB. I wasn't questioning the badge, just the "B&NL" stamp which has a good chance of being added post-war. But also with many S&L zincers we cannot know with certainty whether any given badge was assembled in wartime or post-war from leftovers.

Best regards,
---Norm

[Thomas Durante]

Hi Jeff,

I agree with Norm, nothing really wrong with the badge itself, hardware and details look like what I would expect from a "wartime compatible" S&L badge. I only question the maker mark and as Norm showed, it differs from the stamp that B&NL used on their wartime badges. So that is two strikes against the mark itself and the 3rd is that it appears to match the mark we see on the fake Souval APBs, so that seals its fate as being postwar applied IMO.

Tom

[xmember]

Hi Norm,

I'm following this as I have the badge in my collection now. Let me know if you need anything else from this piece.

Regards,
Rudy

[Norm F]

Hi Rudy,

Now that you ask, I've wondered if the picture of the B&NL mark from your badge was taken at an angle that might have distorted the perspective at all. Is it possible to get a nice clear straight-on closeup of the mark to better compare?

Best regards,
---Norm

[xmember]

Try and do it tonight Norm.

Regards,
Rudy

[xmember]

Norm - will this do? Straight shot of the mark.

Regards,
Rudy

[Norm F]

Thanks Rudy. Once again you can see that the proportions and alignment are very different from the usual B&NL stamps. It's also possible that those letters on the CA badge were stamped separately rather than being part of the same tool.

Best regards,
---Norm

[Thomas Durante]

Thanks for the closeup Rudy, and I can only agree with Norm here. The mark differs from original B&NL stamps.

Also good point about the individual letters Norm, I think you are right, it look like each letter was stamped individually unlike original B&NL marks.

Tom

[Colorado]

Curious that the KA has letters marked individually and is struck on an original wartime badge. The other stamp on the BKA is on a post-war and done with a single tool.

For historical context, I have the original Polaroid photo and accompanying typed letter from Carl Robin dated 27 February 1982 that lists this badge for sale as:

-- Coastal Artillery, BN&L (sic) hallmark, narrow pin, bright gilt $75

[Thomas Durante]

Curious that the KA has letters marked individually and is struck on an original wartime badge.

Hi Jeff,

You just cannot be sure its an "original" with S&L badges given their prolific postwar activities. The badge itself certainly looks "wartime compatible" but when it comes to S&L, that is not really a guarantee that its a true, original wartime badge. It could very well be that the badge planchet itself was wartime produced, but wasn't finished before the end of the war. It could be put together with leftover parts for the souvenier trade. We also don't know exactly when S&L started new production after the war, therefore we must also accept the possibility that this one wasn't leftover at all but made completely in the postwar period. At this point there are still alot of lingering questions with S&L and why I think most collectors have agreed on the term "wartime compatible".

Tom

[Colorado]

Hi Tom - That's fair enough, I am not as active with badges and terms these days, so that sounds good to me. Thanks.

Hi Jeff,

You just cannot be sure its an "original" with S&L badges given their prolific postwar activities. The badge itself certainly looks "wartime compatible" but when it comes to S&L, that is not really a guarantee that its a true, original wartime badge. It could very well be that the badge planchet itself was wartime produced, but wasn't finished before the end of the war. It could be put together with leftover parts for the souvenier trade. We also don't know exactly when S&L started new production after the war, therefore we must also accept the possibility that this one wasn't leftover at all but made completely in the postwar period. At this point there are still alot of lingering questions with S&L and why I think most collectors have agreed on the term "wartime compatible".

Tom

[Norm F]

The other stamp on the BKA is on a post-war and done with a single tool.

You could be right that the two marks are different. It's hard to say because the photos are inadequate. On the multiple strike one, I count two "B"s and two "N"s but three "L"s?

Best regards,
---Norm

[Colorado]

It looks like the "B" in the foreground is a double strike and you can see a third "B" and the tool slipped giving the "L" an elongated strike. A hit going from left to right putting pressure on left side and why the third "N" isn't visibile. Just a guess, but supports it being one tool vs. two. The opening in the "&" looks different to S&L KA badge.

You could be right that the two marks are different. It's hard to say because the photos are inadequate. On the multiple strike one, I count two "B"s and two "N"s but three "L"s?

Best regards,
---Norm