Blackinton Military Aviator Badge in Unopened Package

[rustywings]

Its definitely a Blackinton badge. It's obviously not an original piece but it appears at least 40 years old based on the package it's in. I have been looking for other Blackinton badges & insignia that use this type of packaging. It looks like Blackinton stopped using this type of packaging in the 60's, maybe early 70's. I am still looking to find the earliest example of this packaging, though. I may have some luck by contacting them.

 

Hello M.T.H.

 

I think you're just about spot-on with your assumption the bagged collector-copy Military Aviator badge which started this thread was first sold by Blackinton in the early 1960's. Blackinton used the identically marked plastic bags to market their line of commercial airlines Stewardess and Flight Crew badges as early as 1962.

[pfrost]

When did Stuckey's catalogs come out? I picked up one that had all the different US service medals and some of the European medals as well. It also included various US military insignia, including (IIRC) a 1913 vintage Military Aviator badge. Wasn't his stuff specifically targeted for collectors and weren't the putting those catalogs out in the 40's and 50's?

 

P

[firefighter]

 

What do you mean by "very prestigious?"

 

As far as I know, Blackington (then) was a manufacturer of insignia and society goods--hardly more prestigious than M.C. Lilley, Ames, or a dozen or so other competitors. Today they are almost exclusively manufacturers of law enforcement insignia. They are one of the very few early manufacturers of insignia that is still in business--so they do indeed have a long legacy. Either way, they are certainly not in a category with Tiffany, Cartier, or even BB&B--many of the items Blackington sells today retail for less than $1.00.

 

As for BB&B, even during their heyday, they too were wholesale jobbers and had low-end lines as well as high; so I'm not sure "prestigious" particularly applies--even to them.

 

After WW2, there were many, many more competitors in the military insignia game. Blackington probably found it harder to compete in the military insignia business and turned to law enforcement.

 

In the era we are talking about, the 1950s to (possibly as late as) the 1960s, the 1913 military aviators would have been in their 70s. Not young to be sure, but certainly no so old as to not still be around. No doubt they were invited to Dining Ins and other official functions. If they were retirees, they would have been authorized to shop at Clothing Sales. They were probably also considered VIPs so it is likely the PX made sure to have some badges in stock.

 

Hallmarks? Hallmarks are a spotty thing at best. They tend to be more prevalent on items made of precious and semi-precious metals. Because hallmarks require a hand strike, they add time and therefore expense to a product. Would Blackington bother to hallmark an item not in precious metal? Cliff Presley's sterling badge, on Bob Shwartz' site, has no hallmark and it is clearly a Blackington badge.

 

To be explicit, it is possible that this is an elaborate fantasy piece. But I also find it plausible that, if it is a real, die-struck badge, it represents the very tail end of Blackington's official manufacture of this badge. Please don't misconstrue, I am not proposing that this is a rare 1920s badge that somehow found its way into a 1950s/1960s bag...

 

The only way to gain any real surety would be to compare the badge with known Blacktington strikes. The following questions might be instructive:

 

1) Is the badge die struck or cast?

2) Is the top bar die struck or cast (pre- or post-1967)?

3) When compared side-by-side with a known Blackington-struck badge how does it compare in terms of dimensions and details?

 

Chris

 

Not sure why you have to be like that. Yes , they are not BB&B, but still a very famous and large company. You can believe what you want. I don't think they are any thing a PX or clothing sales store would 'hold on too' hoping an old General would come in and ask for a set. So your logic every base would have a pair of these? Hmmmm! Highly on likely. But like any badge/insignia manufacture they would want to hallmark their badge, especially a badge like this.

 

Matt. The badge you showed in #21 is definitely different, not just the silver highlights, but the detail is much sharper. Are those badges marked?

[Patchcollector]

Yet, of all the veterans I have talked to, not a one had any interest in who had made their badge, much less that there were different variations. They just sort of wore what they wore. One guy told me that after what he went through during the war, he couldn't wait to take off his uniform and never think of it again. He did say he was excited to get his uniform, but he was more worried about what was facing him overseas then where his insignia were coming from.

 

 

 

As I read this I was reminded of something and taken back to my youth..(Flowery music playing in background)

When I was a young lad back in the 60's I had all the G.I Joes,Matchbox vehicles,slot cars,etc..I used and abused and traded them off or threw them out not thinking about the value they may have later on.Thinking ahead for me at that time was usually nothing more than wondering what was for lunch..

That's why all the pre-1980 stuff is so collectible.Nobody gave a dang about preserving them for future collectors.

Fast forward to the mid 90's.When buying toys for my son(and recalling the "errors" of my youth)many times I would buy a "playing" example,and also a "keeping" example to stash away.His closet still has these but they aren't worth too much because I suspect that others did the same thing. Today EBay is chock full of "NIB" and "MIB" items.

Nowadays it seems everybody saves everything.

OK,trip down memory lane,(and rant)over,And now back to our regularly scheduled programming...