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6860th HQ T Force Bullion Patch - Original?


militbuff
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Does anyone know if this patch is original. It was up for sale on eBay last week and it looks like it was sold offsite. It was selling for $1,850. It doesn’t look like the only bullion one I’ve ever seen which is shown on Les Hughes’ website.

post-1945-0-41898400-1587327467_thumb.jpeg

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I have seen the original one on Hughes' site, as well as another. Both look the same; that is, different than this one.

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I have seen the original one on Hughes' site, as well as another. Both look the same; that is, different than this one.

Dave, do you (or anyone else) have a pic of the other original bullion 6860th patch? I’ve only seen the Les Hughes version.

 

Dan

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Airborne-Hunter

Les Hughes makes a point in his piece that there is a specific style of fully embroidered patch and a specific style of bullion patch that can concretely be attributed to being worn. In his article he heavily implies if not explicitly states there should be only these two styles of patches issued in 1944-45 in France. From this and this alone, one would assume this patch is not one of the ones that would have been worn by the unit, but I would not take that stance. To my point. I have a field citation for a bronze star to an officer in the unit dated February 1946 and issued in Europe. Ostensibly this officer was still in Europe in February 1946. I tend to believe that the original 4 issued patches would not have been enough and that it is highly likely if not probable that additional patches were made. However, this would have been extremely limited run and likely idiosyncratic to the individual soldier.

 

In a roundabout way, without solid provenance there is no means to say this patch was actually worn by a member of the unit. Whereas the two styles Hughes talks about specifically are known to have been worn by members of the unit. I have seen a German made bullion example and think it righteous. I have mixed feelings on this patch, but generally think favorably on it. It will not pass muster with some collectors for the aforementioned reasons. However, I would expect any soldier having served in this unit, would be extremely proud of his service. The citation I have for the officer's bronze star is one of the most incredible citations I have ever read and most would likely agree that on a relative scale the man likely deserved more than a Bronze Star, but that's not the point. The point is that the man did some incredible stuff. Utterly remarkable. And if I were him, I'd be awfully proud and I'd want to wear my uniform proudly as much as possible especially in post war Europe. And I'd want a nice, bullion, patch. Four patches wouldn't have been enough.

Best ABN

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In my opinion I think it is real.I have owned five bullion T Force patches in 40 years.Of those four are what I call bullion trimmed and only one like the one on Les Hughes website which I call full bullion even though there is cloth in the center portion.As stated I think this one was done right after the war and in my opinion is real.

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Why not be 100% safe and be satisfied with the fully embroidered French made version and not have any doubt about spending $2000 on an opinion piece where there maybe questions.

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Many thanks to all for your informed opinions and thoughts. I agree with those who believe it's original but I also agree with Mort in that I think it makes more sense to buy the version that's well known to be original. I would be nervous paying $2K (not that I have the money!) for a patch that I didn't have full confidence in its being original. But it's good to know that there's more than one type of original bullion patch for the unit.

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