WWII USN/USMC pinback paratrooper wing Amico

[Kurt Barickman]

Tried to look in the reference section but didn´t find anything, so I really don´t know much about this topic so I am asking for information here on this forum about the WWII USN USMC Paratrooper wings and don´t know how much scarcer than the regular US Army style paratrooper they are. This is a pinback and Amico marked. I have a USMC KIA Paramarine group that I acquired from the family and was curious how rare they are and what kind of value they have. If there is a thread somewhere that I missed, I apologize.

 

Thanks in advance,

 

Kurt

[triplecanopy]

You can look in the Hallmarks section of the Forum and find numerous examples of AMICO badges.

 

[Kurt Barickman]

Thanks for the direction, how much rarer are they than the standard WWII US Army pinback jump wings?

 

Kurt

[triplecanopy]

The Amico pinback USMC wings are quite desirable. It would be difficult for me to give you a current value, but lets' just say you have a very nice item that you will have no trouble selling should you decide to do so. Let me know if you decide to part with them as I will be glad to make you an offer. PM me. 

[0bx]

Kurt, this AMICO wing is pretty difficult to find and way more unusual than the standard WWII US Army pinback jump wings. This wing was originally awarded to graduates of the USN Parachute Rigger School during WW2, but subsequently also worn by some USMC Parachutists. There is some history of these wings at wikipedia.org under Aircrew Survival Equipmentman. There is also a small article in the ASMIC Trading Post (July-Sept 1991). It is also interesting to note that the wings with the AMICO hallmark were only manufactured during WW2 as AMICO was purchased by GEMSCO shortly after the war ended. You will see other wings like these manufactured after WW2 but they will not have the AMICO hallmark. Hope this is of some help.

[Kurt Barickman]

Yes, thanks all.

 

Kurt

[Tonomachi]

Here is a thread (link below) about variations of the USN/USMC paratrooper wing.   I have found that the AMICO hallmarked USN/USMC paratrooper wing of WW2 vintage comes in four different sizes 3", 2 3/4", 1 3/8"and 3/4".   I don't know what the current valued of a full size AMICO USN/USMC paratrooper wing is going for but they were usually selling at around 300 dollars a couple of years ago.  It is the most common one you come across besides the unmarked ones that were part of the Harry S. Wosk remaining inventory of insignia that came out of a closed down surplus store in San Diego. 

 

The harder ones to find are the ones made by Durocharm and V. H. Blackinton.   There may be two other variants as they are both pin back but I'm not 100% sure they are of WW2 vintage.  One came out of a long closed surplus store in San Francisco and the other is a head scratcher as there is both a full size pin back 3" wing and smaller pin back 1 3/8" wing that are similar to the copies currently being sold by the W***** Gallery.   These however are made differently with some age to them.  I have also come across pin back 1 3/8" USN/USMC paratrooper wings hallmarked NS Meyer and 6 Winard.  However I have yet to come across full size (3") versions of these wings with these hallmarks.