What year are these EGA’s?

[azww2]

Hello,
 

I recently bought a named USMC WWII grouping and it came with these four EGA’s. 3 came with an Officer cap and the droop wings a garrison cap.

 

Each one is different so I don’t think they’re all originally WW2 period.

What do you all think? Also if they are older were these often reused during World War II? And one more thing how do you recommend I clean the droop wing Ega?

 

Super thanks

[stucky151]

The first service emblem is a very nice 1912 HH, the dress emblem is a M1937, circa 1950s and your imperial HH service emblem is a 1937 model. The droop wing is a nice HH officer 1926. If you’re looking to clean, id suggest warm water and a soft

bristle toothbrush to clear out the polish residue, which is weird to see on a service emblem, my two cents. 

[azww2]

1 hour ago, stucky151 said:

The first service emblem is a very nice 1912 HH, the dress emblem is a M1937, circa 1950s and your imperial HH service emblem is a 1937 model. The droop wing is a nice HH officer 1926. If you’re looking to clean, id suggest warm water and a soft

bristle toothbrush to clear out the polish residue, which is weird to see on a service emblem, my two cents. 

Wow, that is neat stuff! Thanks for the info. Is it just me or do the continents on the droop wing EGA look crooked?

[KurtA]

Put some toothpaste on that droopy wing and rub gently with water pouring over it. That will remove the polishing residue.

And don't do ANYTHING to that first one.  It has an outstanding patina. 

[Brig]

10 hours ago, azww2 said:

Wow, that is neat stuff! Thanks for the info. Is it just me or do the continents on the droop wing EGA look crooked?

 

Not uncommon, they were hand-applied on officer pieces. We sometimes call pieces with less-than-stellar quality control "Monday Morning" or "Friday Afternoon" pieces, referring to the employee's lack of excitement about being at work during those periods.

[azww2]

2 hours ago, KurtA said:

Put some toothpaste on that droopy wing and rub gently with water pouring over it. That will remove the polishing residue.

And don't do ANYTHING to that first one.  It has an outstanding patina. 

Sure thing 👍

[azww2]

1 minute ago, Brig said:

 

Not uncommon, they were hand-applied on officer pieces. We sometimes call pieces with less-than-stellar quality control "Monday Morning" or "Friday Afternoon" pieces, referring to the employee's lack of excitement about being at work during those periods.

Interesting thanks!

[azww2]

11 hours ago, stucky151 said:

The first service emblem is a very nice 1912 HH, the dress emblem is a M1937, circa 1950s and your imperial HH service emblem is a 1937 model. The droop wing is a nice HH officer 1926. If you’re looking to clean, id suggest warm water and a soft

bristle toothbrush to clear out the polish residue, which is weird to see on a service emblem, my two cents. 

Since you said, the first one is from 1912, I am questioning if the cap it came attached to is from World War 2 or earlier? Here are some photos of it. Do you possibly think this is from World War I era?

[warguy]

The H-H P1912 refers to the “pattern” not necessarily when the ega was made. In fact, if I recall correctly, H-H didn't go into business until 1926. You have a very nice officers cover there. Jacob Reeds and Sons is an early maker and will show up on a lot of WWI vintage USMC caps (officers), however this cap is not WWI (they were a bell crown design in WWI that changed in the 1920’s). Officers caps can often be hard to date precisely, but I would submit this cap based on construction and materials  likely dates to the late 20’s or 1930’s and the ega that was on it fits perfectly. If I were you I would not seperate the two. Great looking cap (and ega). I love the earlier H-H officer cap ega’s, they really have a great look. 

[stucky151]

That pattern was in use for a quite some time. Possibly obtained it and continued to wear it throughout his service, which was not uncommon. The Early HH is just a beautiful emblem, that has the perfect look to it ! Second what warguy stated, Id say its a 1937 pattern officer cover, but looks like the side buttons have been replaced with Navy buttons. 

[azww2]

1 hour ago, warguy said:

The H-H P1912 refers to the “pattern” not necessarily when the ega was made. In fact, if I recall correctly, H-H didn't go into business until 1926. You have a very nice officers cover there. Jacob Reeds and Sons is an early maker and will show up on a lot of WWI vintage USMC caps (officers), however this cap is not WWI (they were a bell crown design in WWI that changed in the 1920’s). Officers caps can often be hard to date precisely, but I would submit this cap based on construction and materials  likely dates to the late 20’s or 1930’s and the ega that was on it fits perfectly. If I were you I would not seperate the two. Great looking cap (and ega). I love the earlier H-H officer cap ega’s, they really have a great look. 

Very cool I suspected it was possibly pre war. My other Khaki cap (1937 EGA) is named to this Marine WW2 Captain so the green cap must’ve not belonged to him because it’s to early. If I may, what is the value of the green cap with EGA? 

[Brig]

Very common in the era for officers to receive their emblems from their fathers if their fathers had also been Marines and continue to wear them, even if the patterns had fallen out of use. The large variety in emblems among manufacturers of the time allowed for this practice to go unnoticed.

 

While the practice or wearing outdated patterns would never fly today, except in very limited circumstances (i.e.- Howling Mad Smith's collar emblems at 8th & I), we still authorized officers to carry swords handed down by the family, even if they are not the correct length for the Marine carrying it.

[warguy]

Stucky nailed it, replaced buttons. I noted they were dark bronze which would suggest later but didn't catch that they were navy. Would be an easy fix once you find USMC buttons. The cap indeed could be a bit later, but I still think it has the makings of pre WWII. I do have a nice tan cover in my collection that dates to late twenties and it has a brown visor and chin strap. On the enlisted mens caps, you can discern 1920’s models from their more narrow chin straps. Yours certainly has a wide chin strap and I am not entirely sure if the more narrow ones were also worn by officers on the earlier models, (Officer caps were private purchase and tailored by private firms unlike the EM caps which were made by government contract). Value is always a tough call…..as they say the value is the price a buyer is willing to pay. Rough estimate with that nice ega on it I would ay is $300, give or take $25-$50 either direction. If it were named inside with some history, it would be stronger in the plus direction. Carefully check under the sweatband to see if you can find a name, many were stamped there. Good luck. 

[azww2]

1 hour ago, warguy said:

Stucky nailed it, replaced buttons. I noted they were dark bronze which would suggest later but didn't catch that they were navy. Would be an easy fix once you find USMC buttons. The cap indeed could be a bit later, but I still think it has the makings of pre WWII. I do have a nice tan cover in my collection that dates to late twenties and it has a brown visor and chin strap. On the enlisted mens caps, you can discern 1920’s models from their more narrow chin straps. Yours certainly has a wide chin strap and I am not entirely sure if the more narrow ones were also worn by officers on the earlier models, (Officer caps were private purchase and tailored by private firms unlike the EM caps which were made by government contract). Value is always a tough call…..as they say the value is the price a buyer is willing to pay. Rough estimate with that nice ega on it I would ay is $300, give or take $25-$50 either direction. If it were named inside with some history, it would be stronger in the plus direction. Carefully check under the sweatband to see if you can find a name, many were stamped there. Good luck. 

Thank you! That’s some pretty good value I will definitely keep the EGA attached to it and not sell it separately. I think I do have some old Marine Corps small buttons laying around, which one specifically would be period correct with the hat? I think mine are brass Waterbury.

[azww2]

3 hours ago, Brig said:

Very common in the era for officers to receive their emblems from their fathers if their fathers had also been Marines and continue to wear them, even if the patterns had fallen out of use. The large variety in emblems among manufacturers of the time allowed for this practice to go unnoticed.

 

While the practice or wearing outdated patterns would never fly today, except in very limited circumstances (i.e.- Howling Mad Smith's collar emblems at 8th & I), we still authorized officers to carry swords handed down by the family, even if they are not the correct length for the Marine carrying it.

Interesting did not know that about the swords!

[warguy]

9 hours ago, azww2 said:

Thank you! That’s some pretty good value I will definitely keep the EGA attached to it and not sell it separately. I think I do have some old Marine Corps small buttons laying around, which one specifically would be period correct with the hat? I think mine are brass Waterbury.

The cap is a service dress visor so you need bronze buttons. On caps they are usually a screw back device, sometimes split ring. I would look for some that aren't too dark, you don't want black like what’s on there. You may not be able to match the patina on the ega, but try to find some with a bit of the bronze color showing. Scoville, Waterbury, Horstmann are all popular makers of that era. 

[azww2]

On 4/6/2025 at 6:57 AM, warguy said:

The cap is a service dress visor so you need bronze buttons. On caps they are usually a screw back device, sometimes split ring. I would look for some that aren't too dark, you don't want black like what’s on there. You may not be able to match the patina on the ega, but try to find some with a bit of the bronze color showing. Scoville, Waterbury, Horstmann are all popular makers of that era. 

I found a couple laying around, they say made in England in the back, are these period correct to go on the cap?

[warguy]

Once again, that cap you have is a service visor, which means you need to find bronze buttons for it matching the ega. Those buttons you have there would be for the blue (or white) dress visor. 

[azww2]

6 hours ago, warguy said:

Once again, that cap you have is a service visor, which means you need to find bronze buttons for it matching the ega. Those buttons you have there would be for the blue (or white) dress visor. 

OK understood I guess I was getting confused by the colors, are these bronze? Trying to find the right pair to match with it.

[warguy]

20 minutes ago, azww2 said:

OK understood I guess I was getting confused by the colors, are these bronze? Trying to find the right pair to match with it.

Looks like they probably are, lighting makes it tough but a good chance.

[azww2]

13 hours ago, warguy said:

Looks like they probably are, lighting makes it tough but a good chance.

Thanks! So is the tan cap a service visor and the white one is a dress visor? I’m assuming the white one is maybe from the 1950s?

[warguy]

Yes the tan and green are service covers, the white and blue considered dress. Gold buttons worn with both dress models and the gold and silver ega. All bronze buttons and ega on service covers. 

[azww2]

On 4/8/2025 at 12:57 PM, warguy said:

Yes the tan and green are service covers, the white and blue considered dress. Gold buttons worn with both dress models and the gold and silver ega. All bronze buttons and ega on service covers. 

Thanks I ordered some! Well what do you know I came across some more EGA’s, 2 droop wings and the other I think is WW1 possibly. Anyways How do you know if an EGA is for an officer or enlisted man?

[warguy]

You are in need of a book! If you continue down this path, you are going to want to have some basic knowledge on Marine Corps covers, uniforms and Ega’s. I recommend a book on Eagle Globe and Anchor  by Tim Klie (I think a forum member). An hour or two reading that will help you out a lot.

 

In a nutshell, officer Ega’s have separate ropes attached. Early Ega officer collar has no ropes but were  better made. Officer dress Ega’s are gold and silver. Enlisted men’s Ega’s have ropes that are part of the mold and not separately attached and all gold for dress. 

[azww2]

55 minutes ago, warguy said:

You are in need of a book! If you continue down this path, you are going to want to have some basic knowledge on Marine Corps covers, uniforms and Ega’s. I recommend a book on Eagle Globe and Anchor  by Tim Klie (I think a forum member). An hour or two reading that will help you out a lot.

 

In a nutshell, officer Ega’s have separate ropes attached. Early Ega officer collar has no ropes but were  better made. Officer dress Ega’s are gold and silver. Enlisted men’s Ega’s have ropes that are part of the mold and not separately attached and all gold for dress. 

Thanks I will look into that book because it’s seems there’s so much to learn about Ega’s. One thing that throws me off is the wild prices of some of them, for example this droop wing is on flying tiger antiques and they’re “asking” over 600 for it! Is this accurate for this droop wing? It seems some prices are lower and some wicked high so how do you determine a price of a ega?