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What is the rarest WW II tab?


Desertrat
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I submit that it is the Army Physical Training tab. Always British made and worn by a select few assigned as trainers/physical therapists to retrain/rehab wounded soldiers. You can read more on Mark Bando's site, under the title "The Obscure Insignia of the Army Physical Training Unit"

 

 

http://www.101airborneww2.com/insignia2.html

 

 

Here is mine.

 

 

 

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Jerry,

 

Over the years I have seen several of these tabs. While I would call them scarce, I think that there are some that are going to be rarer. There are going to be some "one off" pieces as well as pieces with company designations that are going to be much tougher to find.

 

Here is one that I think is far rarer than the Army Physical Training tab- photographed here is a World War II made red letter on white "Airborne" tab worn by members of the 127th Airborne Engineer Battalion prior to their deployment to the Pacific theater. There is a similar tab that was worn by members of the 127th Engineers in the 1950's, but the tabs are not the same. I've specialized in WWII airborne for over 35 years now and have never had an opportunity to own another. When I bought this one in 1987, the collector who sold it to me said that it was the only one he had ever seen and he had been collecting patches since he was a kid in the 1950's.

 

Allan

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Thanks for sharing Allan. That tab is fantastic. I found the APT tab on a FB sales page. Guy had a whole lot of medals and other insignia and this one patch (the only one I had seen outside of Bando's). I jumped on it, paying $10 for it.

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I put that White on Blue ANZIO tab up there on the above list. Not so much of because it's a rare expensive item, but because of it's seemly rare sighting on a period uniform, in photo or otherwise. There are three unit shoulder patches, that were at Anzio that it would match up with as far as matching colors, II Corps, 3rd Inf Div, and 82nd Abn Div.

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First, you need to define "rare". Is it one? Less than five? Less than 20?

 

Numbering is subjective, and then there are those who always, always confuse rarity with desirablility.

 

There are literally hundreds of tabs for the 8th Armored Div that say "Thundering Herd", but all of them were worn beneath the 8th AD patch. I have one that definitely goes over the top, and it's the only one I have seen in 50+ years of collecting. Rare? Yes. Desirable? Depends on who's interested.....see what I mean?

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Dave makes a great point.which bottom line means that the market determines what is rare. In Daves' example nobody knows about or has heard of his example so there can be no demand.

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Patchcollector

My definition of "rare" pertains to the number of items available.Desirability IMO is subjective,and what one desires need'nt be rare in terms of numbers,although in many cases,rarity and desirability do go hand in hand.

 

Just wanted to add;I rarely(pun intended :) ) use the term "rare",and consider items to be "rare" only if they number less than a dozen or so.

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Who wants a 479th Mess Kit Repair Co patch;there is only one in existence? That is rare but not desirable. If you happen to have the patch let me know.

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Garth Thompson

How about the Australian made 1st Marines tab under the MAC Defence Battalions. It is the only one I have ever seen.

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WorldWarPatches

How about the Australian made 1st Marines tab under the MAC Defence Battalions. It is the only one I have ever seen.

 

Wow...I want that tab!

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Dave makes a great point.which bottom line means that the market determines what is rare. In Daves' example nobody knows about or has heard of his example so there can be no demand.

 

Oh, I don't know Mort, I have lots of competition for armored patches................

 

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  • 4 years later...
On 10/30/2015 at 10:00 AM, patches said:

I put that White on Blue ANZIO tab up there on the above list. Not so much of because it's a rare expensive item, but because of it's seemly rare sighting on a period uniform, in photo or otherwise. There are three unit shoulder patches, that were at Anzio that it would match up with as far as matching colors, II Corps, 3rd Inf Div, and 82nd Abn Div.

Whoops, just seeing a error on my part, II Corps should read VI Corps, it was VI at Anzio, II Corps was still hung up down south in the Cassino Region at that time.

 

in.jpg

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  • 3 weeks later...

Desertrat

I have been looking for a tab like that for a long time,,here is the patch that goes with that tab.

Dave

physical train1.JPG

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14 hours ago, DAVE H said:

Desertrat

I have been looking for a tab like that for a long time,,here is the patch that goes with that tab.

Dave

physical train1.JPG

You have the SSI for the Army Physical Training Unit, and it is a "stand alone" patch. The tab "Army Physical Training Unit" was worn above the ETO Advanced Base SSI. You will note that the arc of the tab fits nicely over the ETO patch. It would have to be worn above the APTU SSI as the patch is too wide for the edges of the tab to clear the edges of the patch.

 

Allan

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