Presidential Service Badge & Patch

[HMX-1]

Does anybody collect PSB's

 

pat

[Walt175]

I have 1 new style and 1 old style as well as 1 new style Vice Pres badge.

 

The new style was issued, and is numbered. I have some info on the original owner. The old style is not numbered, but is in it's original case. The Vice Pres badge is not numbered, and I believe was unissued.

[Bob Hudson]

Does anybody collect PSB's

 

pat

 

I sold one early last summer. Kind of wish now I'd kept it. I had no idea of it's worth and sold for maybe $250 but found later that one had gone for $600 on ebay in March 2006: however one sold recently for around $180. It was something I found pinned to coat of an Alpha uniforma laying on the ground at the local swap meet. There was card inside which ID'ed it as having belonged to someone who'd been in HMX-1.

 

I can't find any larger photos of the badge but here's a small one:

 

 

Presidential Service Badges are, according to Wikipedia and Answers.com, "...issued to military members who serve as full-time military staff to the President of the United States...

 

Subsequent to White House service, the Presidential Service Badge is authorized for continued wear on a military uniform and is entered in military service records as a permanent decoration. "

 

These are close to 3 inches in diameter if I recall and quite heavy. When you see one pinned on the right breast pocket of a uniform it sure stands out. The full size ones just don't seem to show up very often.

[4STARCHRIS]

 

This General Colin powell uniform is out of my collection. You can clearly see the Presidential ID badge. This is ID to Colin Powell. The uniform is completely original and in my possession. I hope this help.

4starchris

[Jason G]

A friend of mine who served at Camp David has let me see his, and told me some history behind them. I can't believe you found one pinned to an Alpha blouse on the ground!!! Holy... I should be so lucky...

 

According to him, the badges can be revoked for misconduct, as the numbers are individually assigned to the bearer, basically for life. The owner can apply for a replacement if the original is lost, damaged, or becomes unservicable, and one is provided for a nominal fee.

 

Any badge without a number is basically a reproduction, according to him; the 'real' ones are all numbered.

[GIl Sanow]

A friend of mine who served at Camp David has let me see his, and told me some history behind them. I can't believe you found one pinned to an Alpha blouse on the ground!!! Holy... I should be so lucky...

 

According to him, the badges can be revoked for misconduct, as the numbers are individually assigned to the bearer, basically for life. The owner can apply for a replacement if the original is lost, damaged, or becomes unservicable, and one is provided for a nominal fee.

 

Any badge without a number is basically a reproduction, according to him; the 'real' ones are all numbered.

 

There was a lot that came out of His Lordship (the same outfit convicted for making/selling MOH's a few years back) that were numbered also. Dealers I knew had them on cards in poly bags still strung together -- for sale to dealers. They soon dried up.

 

Interestingly, a fellow offered me one for $100, in the wrapper. When I hesitated, he told me I should buy it for when I got Colin Powell's uniform. I did -- to BOTH!

[QED4]

Here is a picture of mine the one on the left is the White House Service Badge, it was replaced with the Presidential Service Badge and Vice-Presidential Service Badge. The White House Badge was not a permanent badge, it was only worn while serving in the White House. This one is not numbered on the back and I am not sure if it should be. The one on the right is the Presidential Service Badge and the small one in the middle is the lapel pin for civilian clothing. During a lull at a show a while back I was talking to another dealer, whose name escapes me now, he specializes in high end current stuff and was at one time himself on the Presidential Staff. He said the badges were numbered and were also engraved unfortunate I don't remember all the details but I think it would have his SS number and the dates of service and possibly his name. I may have this wrong as it have been awhile and to tell the truth I wasn't all that interested. Anyway this one is numbered but no engraving.

[QED4]

Here is the back.

[Dave]

All of the PSBs are numbered, and they are now in the 13,000 range if my guess is correct. There is actually a log of all of the recipients of these badges, and a numbered one can be traced by this log. However, the only copy that I am aware of is located in the White House Military Office, and although I tried to get a copy of it, I was never able to. I do not know if they have issued every one of the 13000 badges, or if there have been blocks that have been skipped. I highly doubt that anyone is overly concerned about the importance of not skipping serial numbers!

 

When a person serves at the White House for at least one year, they are given the badge, along with two documents that accompany it. One is signed by the Director of the White House Military Office, the other signer escapes me at the moment. A friend of mine who was on White House staff twice during the past decade made copies for me of his documents and I can't find them in my cluttered mess (aka office) at the moment! The White House military staff is quite large, and range from the Air Force One crew to members of various "task forces" that work for the President, the chefs in the kitchen to the Navy junior enlisted Enginemen who work on the White House generators.

 

Once a staffer receives this badge, they can purchase additional badges for a minimal cost (they were $10 each in the late 90s) as well as have other custom items made that incorporate the seal and their numbers, such as rings, lapel pins and the like.

 

Hope that helps!

 

Dave

[Bob Hudson]

Finally found the photos of the PSB and Alpha USMC uniform I sold last year. The ribbons and the PSB each had pieces of cardboard beneath the clutch backs in order keep the fabric from sagging. Well, the piece supporting the PSB was what appears to be perhaps a baggage tag from the Marine 1 helicopter squadron HMX-1. I blacked out the Marine's name in Photoshop and have no idea now what it was. Perhaps HMX-1 can enlighten me about the card. As I said above, this was laying on a tarp on the ground at a swap meet just south of Camp Pendleton. The guy wanted $5 for it. In looking at the photos now I really do wish I'd held on to it.

 

[Walt175]

Nice!

 

I'll have to dig mine out and take some pics.

[Bob Hudson]

This weekend on ebay I ran into what appears to be an "almost" copy of the Presidential Service Badge. I even bid on it until I went back and looked at photos and realized this is not the real thing. As you can see in the photos above, the real thing has a gold eagle and the circle of stars. On this one there's an outside chance that the gold plating wore off, but there are no stars and there is no number on the back even though the real ones are all supposedly serial numbered. I put a real one next to this one to more easily show the differences:

 

 

 

 

This also does not fit the criteria for the Vice Presidential Service Badge and the White House Service Badge, which preceded the PSB.

 

My assumption is that this was a copy with changes made to the design so it would not be considered an out and out counterfeit.

[Guest Polar-Bear-One]

Does anybody collect PSB's

 

pat

 

Hi Pat,

 

I hope to acquire more badges relating to Presidential and Whitehouse service. I have a few patches from service on Marine-1, I have a few different lapel pins, including DOD, Joint Cheifs of Staff, Air Force One, and others, still in their boxes with the presidential seal on them. I have a Vice President badge and lapel pin in a clear case. I am hoping to acquire the Presidential Service Badge next year when funds are a little more tollerant to my hobbies.

 

Best regards,

Mark Green

[Presidentialserver]

This weekend on ebay I ran into what appears to be an "almost" copy of the Presidential Service Badge. I even bid on it until I went back and looked at photos and realized this is not the real thing. As you can see in the photos above, the real thing has a gold eagle and the circle of stars. On this one there's an outside chance that the gold plating wore off, but there are no stars and there is no number on the back even though the real ones are all supposedly serial numbered. I put a real one next to this one to more easily show the differences:

 

 

 

 

This also does not fit the criteria for the Vice Presidential Service Badge and the White House Service Badge, which preceded the PSB.

 

My assumption is that this was a copy with changes made to the design so it would not be considered an out and out counterfeit.

[Nkomo]

Guys, I just caught this thread by accident. This is one of the very few US badges that I own. This was a birthday gift to me from my father. I think he paid $35 for it (the only way I know is because I was there when he bought it). It is in the original Balfour case. The backing has no number but is marked BALFOUR I-B (maybe 1-. Can anyone tell me how old this badge is?

[Nkomo]

Another pic.

[Nkomo]

Last picture. I would take a picture of the back, but when I do the pics don't turn out to good.

[Guest spiff1313]

All of the PSBs are numbered, and they are now in the 13,000 range if my guess is correct. There is actually a log of all of the recipients of these badges, and a numbered one can be traced by this log. However, the only copy that I am aware of is located in the White House Military Office, and although I tried to get a copy of it, I was never able to. I do not know if they have issued every one of the 13000 badges, or if there have been blocks that have been skipped. I highly doubt that anyone is overly concerned about the importance of not skipping serial numbers!

 

When a person serves at the White House for at least one year, they are given the badge, along with two documents that accompany it. One is signed by the Director of the White House Military Office, the other signer escapes me at the moment. A friend of mine who was on White House staff twice during the past decade made copies for me of his documents and I can't find them in my cluttered mess (aka office) at the moment! The White House military staff is quite large, and range from the Air Force One crew to members of various "task forces" that work for the President, the chefs in the kitchen to the Navy junior enlisted Enginemen who work on the White House generators.

 

Once a staffer receives this badge, they can purchase additional badges for a minimal cost (they were $10 each in the late 90s) as well as have other custom items made that incorporate the seal and their numbers, such as rings, lapel pins and the like.

 

Hope that helps!

 

Dave

 

Dave,

 

I received one of these for my service while in the Marines. I just thought I would share a little info with you.

 

Mine was numbered in the low 9,000s in 1987. I am not sure if they reuse our numbers or not but I hope they didn't.

 

As for my documents being a Marine mine was signed by the director of the White House Military Office and the other signature was the Secretary of the Navy who was James Webb. I was proud of this signature as it is actually hand signed and I respected the Secretary. James Webb, as you probably know, is a former Marine Viet Nam vet and he wrote one of my favorite books.

 

The badge I got came in a small cardboard box, nothing like the one pictured in the other post. Mine was brown cardboard with the military award descriptions printed on a label and the badge number hand written on it.

 

As for the badge numbers they were used to mess with each other. The more senior you were the lower your number was on the back of the badge. If one of the guys said something to someone senior to them the senior person, whether he was right or wrong, could always throw back, "What’s your badge number Boot?" Trust me, we all knew who had lower numbers.

 

As for the cardboard behind the badge the other poster reported. I smiled when he mentioned it as it brought back memories. We all had that in my unit and apparently his as well. Mine is cut to the size of the badge. As the prior poster stated if you didn't have the cardboard the badge would not look right and you would get gigged. Considering the unit we were in you can imagine the attention we gave to our uniforms. (I still have that cardboard attached to the back of my badge in its box today.)

 

I hope some of this info is helpful to your members.

 

I have a question for you though.

 

You stated,

 

"Once a staffer receives this badge, they can purchase additional badges for a minimal cost (they were $10 each in the late 90s) as well as have other custom items made that incorporate the seal and their numbers, such as rings, lapel pins and the like."

 

Do you have any info on this? I have always wanted to get another badge to pass on to my kids and have never been able to find anything on getting one. I also would love to get a ring. I have a couple of the lapel pins I have been able to come across in the last 20 years.

 

Anything you could tell me about where to get these would be greatly appreciated.

 

Thanks

 

Scott

[KurtA]

Interesting info, Scott!

Kurt

[Bearmon]

I just got this one in the mail, looks good but for the MM

Any ideas if this is good or bad?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The badge is 1 15/16ths in Diameter

[Presidentialserver]

I just got this one in the mail, looks good but for the MM

Any ideas if this is good or bad?

 

The badge is 1 15/16ths in Diameter

 

This badge appears to be one of the Presidential Service Badges issued on the very first day of issue. President Johnson retired the White House Service Badge on September 1, 1964 (I think) and I know issued the first Presidential Service Badges on September 1, 1964. I have a Presidential Service Badge numbered 194 with the original certificate of issue dated September 1, 1964. Your badge is numbered with a lower number than mine so it has to have been issued the first day the PSB replaced the White House Service Badge, September 1, 1964. Quite a find and rare to find a PSB issued over 40 years ago.

 

Nice find,

Dan

[ADMIN]

Here is a Presidential Service Badge that is now for sale on ebay.

 

Item Number: 190216327914

End Time:Apr-27-08 19:00:00 PDT

 

Description:

At a low starting bid is this rare 1960's vintage "H.L.P. G.I. 5269" signed U.S. Presidential Service Badge. Awarded only to full time military personnel serving in the White House, or with Marine One (the president's helicopter), or the U.S. Marine Corps security company at Camp David. Measures 2 15/16th" in diameter. Three clutch back style fasteners. Appears to be three piece construction. The center disc is dark sapphire blue enamel. The gold toned parts appear to be gold plated or gold filled, and not anodized. The maker, "H.L.P." refers to His Lordship Productions of Manhattan, N.Y. and at one time made the Medal Of Honor. Excellent, unpolished condition with sharp details. A very rare and genuine period badge, guaranteed forever to genuine. Payment terms: PayPal or U.S. Postal Service money orders (in the U.S.). I will not falsify value for Customs declaration. Return policy: inspection is for seven (7) days and if not as described, less postage fees. Shipping: U.S. Postal Service with insurance. Please ask questions before bidding and checkout my other items. Thank you and have a happy eBay experience.

 

Follow Up Question / Comment:

For your information, this PSB is from the mid 70's. I served as a Marine at Camp David and was issued PSB #5179 on 15 Sep 76, so #5269 was probably issued sometime in 1977 or 1978. In addition to those you mentioned, the Navy Personnel at Camp David (its official title is Naval Support Facility, Thurmont, MD), personnel assigned to Air Force One, and those assigned to the USS Sequoia (the Presidential Yacht, prior to being sold in 1977 at the direction of President Carter) were awarded the PSB after completion of one year service in support of the President.

 

Pictures:

 

 

 

 

[Old Marine]

As one of the other forum members described himself, I am also a Collector of Opportunity. I try to limit my collection to US items pre 1945. But once in a while I'll find something like this, that is not in my area of collecting, and I just can't turn it down.

 

I found this badge at a flea market about 10 years ago. My eyes bugged out when I saw it lying there amongst the junk jewelry and cheap watches. For 5 bucks there was no way I was going to leave it there. I knew is was a PSB, and I assume it is real but I never thought much about, I just displayed it in my cabinet. Any observations as to it's age and maker would be appreciated.

 

[Teamski]

Hello,

 

I can't figure out what this patch would be used for. Does anybody know? Thanks for your help!

 

-Ski

[Capt.Confederacy]

Hello,

 

I can't figure out what this patch would be used for. Does anybody know? Thanks for your help!

 

-Ski

 

 

I've never seen it before. Perhaps it's a patriotic novelty patch.