Favorite Kriegsmarine War Badge?

[Tom Yanacek]

The Auxiliary Cruiser has always been my favorite of the Naval War Badges. There is something so cool looking about that Viking Ship sailing across the top of the earth. Here are two nice Auxiliary Cruiser Badges from my collection. The first is unmarked, but was most likely produced by Juncker. It is a tombak based badge and still retains a very nice finish. I have owned this one since the late 70's. Please resond with any comments you may have and also post your favorite Kriegsmarine Badge.
Best regards! Tom Yanacek

[Tom Yanacek]

the reverse...

[Tom Yanacek]

the pin, hinge and catch...

[Tom Yanacek]

from the other side.

[Tom Yanacek]

The second badge is one by Schwerin of Berlin. I think the base metal is zinc, and it looks like there are hints of a copper coating over the zinc, and under the gilting. The finish on this one is near mint. It has held up very well over time.

[Tom Yanacek]

the reverse...

[Tom Yanacek]

the catch end...

[Tom Yanacek]

pin, hinge and catch...

[Tom Yanacek]

from the other side.

[John R.]

cruiser badge

Really nice badges, I like all the KM badges, but this one is also one of my favorites. I just posted a question about the maker of my badge, I think it is a Juncker, just above your post, with a couple photos attached.

What other KM badges do you have in your collection?

[Spitfire]

Wow. Nice Badges Tom.

I like all KM badges as well. The Schwerin HSF is a favorite of mine. I do not currently have a Aux. Crusier badge in my collection - but it's on the top of my "want list" - and it's still a long list

Take care, Al

[Tom Yanacek]

Hello trident3 and Al,
Thanks for your responses to this thread. Please post a few pictures of your favorite badge if you can. Best regards! Tom Yanacek

What other KM badges do you have in your collection?

Hey trident3,
I have 42 Kriegsmarine Badges in my present collection. U-boats, E-boats, Minesweepers, Destroyers, Coastal Artys, High Seas Fleets, Aux Cruisers, a Blockade Runner Badge, and a Kriegsmarine Narvik Shield. I also have some Kriegsmarine Award Document Groupings, one to a guy that served on board both "Admiral Hipper" and "Lützow".

[John R.]

42

42!!!!!!!!!

I assume you have spent the money for a fireproof safe. A normal safe in case of fire would result in an oven and the badges would melt.

I like my SB HSF badge the best, not because of the rarity, but the look. I have asked many people who have no knowledge of the German Navy or even WWII about the badges and which they like the best. I have never had anybody point to any other badge than the High Seas Fleet badge. Not once.

My area is just representative high quality KM badges and tallies. I have all the major ship tallies (mutzenbands) that have ship names since not all had names--like Bismarck and Tirpitz for example which had only "kriegsmarine". I have half the destroyer, all the cruiser, all the panzerschiffe, many others.

As the cost has mounted for the badges, I find the tallies a nice way to keep collecting although they too are getting hard to find and you need to know what you are doing before buying anything. There were three types of tallies made during the war, and plenty of fairly easy to recognize fakes after the war.

In the beginning, I made plenty of mistakes with the tallies but learned along the way.

John

Hello trident3 and Al,
Thanks for your responses to this thread. Please post a few pictures of your favorite badge if you can. Best regards! Tom Yanacek

Hey trident3,
I have 42 Kriegsmarine Badges in my present collection. U-boats, E-boats, Minesweepers, Destroyers, Coastal Artys, High Seas Fleets, Aux Cruisers, a Blockade Runner Badge, and a Kriegsmarine Narvik Shield. I also have some Kriegsmarine Award Document Groupings, one to a guy that served on board both "Admiral Hipper" and "Lützow".

[Tom Yanacek]

Hello John,

Thanks for responding. Yes, my collection is well protected and well insured. It would be foolish not to protect this type of investment. So your favorite is the Schwerin High Seas Fleet? Well, that is an excellent choice and hard to disagree with. It's such an imposing design with that battleship heading right at you. I think most people are drawn to it because of it's almost perfect symmetry of design. I do however prefer the Aux. Cruiser Badge because of it's asymmetrical design, that still captures an artistic balance.
Sounds like you have a nice collection of cap tallies going. I have never owned any, but I think they are neat looking and I bet they make a heck of a display. Would like to start collecting those as well, but I'm already way too out of control with the hobby. Best of luck with your collecting!
Tom Yanacek

[Tom Yanacek]

Here are a couple more Auxiliary Cruiser Badges. These are both one-piece zinc badges. Not as nice as the two-part Juncker and Schwerin badges, but still nice in their own simple way. The first is by Rudolf Souval of Vienna.