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Date	Original Topic
15th August 2002	helmet badge By glynne davies hi there, i,ve just bought a brass helmet badge of the 24th from an antique shop, compleat with brasso residue. can anyone tell me how old this badge might be and where it might have been worn. also i notice from old photographs that helmet badges were not worn in battle. would this be from personal choice or by "standing order"? ,
Date	Replies
15th August 2002	John Young Glynne, First a question so I can guage the likely age of the badge, what sort of shape is it? Is it a star pattern shape with a crown to the top centre of the helmet plate? The numbers '24' should be on a bar in the centre of the Garter belt. Or is it the last pattern shako badge? Which has the numbers voided - cut into the centre inside the Garter belt, which is crowned and surrounded by a foliage design. John Young, Chairman, Anglo-Zulu War Research Society.
16th August 2002	glynne Hi John Thanks for your reply. the badge is like the second one you mention. in fact it's very similar to the ones on show in the regimental museum from Isandhlwana. Can i tell if it's a copy?
17th August 2002	John Young Glynne, The last pattern shako badge was worn between 1869-1878, when it was replaced by the star pattern helmet badge. There are a number of manufacturers reproducing the copies of the shako plate. In some cases it is hard to distinguish between the real McCoy and a copy, especially if the badge has been 'aged' & 'distressed'. The price is normally a good indicator as whether it is right or not. Regards, John Young, Chairman, Anglo-Zulu War Research Society.
17th August 2002	Clive Dickens Glynne My friend John Young is so very correct in what he say's regarding the price of a badge a copy would cost you anything between �15 to �25 sometimes a little more depending how much work has gone into it's manufacture while a genuine badge would st you back a considerable sum I myself have rescently paid in Bosleys auction �170 for a volunteers badge of the Worcestershire Regiment 1880-1887 so you see what John means. Regards Clive
19th August 2002	James Garland Glynne, I've collected badges for many years now and the best advice I can give you is this: 1) Have a look at an original (it doesn't have to be a 24th badge any contemporary shako plate will do) and compare the colour of the metal. Modern brass is much more yellow. 2) Look at the back of your badge if it appears to have a black or blue tint it has probably been artificially aged. (can look like dried ink) 3) Victorian badges are usually of good quality. if there are marks that look like they are from the original impression the badge is \probably not Victorian. 4) Many modern reproductions are actually restrikes from the original moulds. As there are only a few of the old moulds left any imperfections in them show up on the restruck badges. so if you see another badge the same as yours examine it to see if it has the same imperfections. 5) If you see a number of plates from the same regiment on the market at once you can bet they are restrikes because there aren't that many about now. Lastly a number of restrikes were made in the early 20th century of old Victorian badges. Many of these are so good and \so old now themselves that they are almost indistuinguishable from the real thing. Anyway I hope yours is original.