I would have guessed this to be a pre-WW2 Badge, but it is part of a Navy V-5 / Marine Corps Aviator grouping, WW2 or early post-war

 

 

 

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Is a nice and sought after piece there. 1930s EM droop wing cap piece. Kevin

Thanks Kevin - I was thinking of getting "United States Marine Corps Eagle, Globe and Anchor Emblem: 1868 -1963 - Pictorial Guide". Is that the go-to book for this sort of thing?

LOL I have the book and it still gets confusing.

It is a mid-1930's production of the enlisted dress hat device. Patterned after the official insignia adopted by change of 1925. The design was widely not accepted by Marines and the Corps continued to contract earlier style hat devices for issue. Manufacturers however, in an attempt to prescribe to the "official insignia", sold the device as private purchase. This emblem has the manufacturer of Hilborn Hamburger. By 1937 a new insignia was adopted and manufacturers retooled their dies in an attempt to bid for government contracts. It is widely sought after by collectors, however they seem to have been surfacing more frequently than in past years. Still a nice piece. Usually fetch in the neighborhood of $500-700. Years ago they went for $1000.

 

Hope this helps.

 

Mike

I am impressed, as I always am with the knowledge of US Militaria Forum members. This one came straight out of a footlocker.

There are three "books" on the subject.

 

1. The longest standing work was done by Col John Driscoll, as an official Marine Corps Museum Technical Monograph Series (number one) for the 100 year anniversary of the insignia. It is titled "The Eagle Globe and Anchor 1868-1968" and it is readily available on open source internet. It was, at the time, the best study conducted, however only used items from the then still growing USMC collection. Photos are black and white and copies of copies have made many pictures very pixelated. If you can get a copy of the original 1971 release, it is worth having. It does contain some errors in timeframe and maybe one repo. So pretty darn good.

 

2. After years of waiting for a modern definitive reference work, Tim Klie authored a book in 2016 entitled "EAGLE, GLOBE AND ANCHOR EMBLEM: 1868-1963". It is a Pictorial Guide and by far has the most content (350+ pages) with color photos of front and back and photos of devices in wear in some cases. Though not all emblems are accurately identified to timeframe and described, it is a must have guide.

 

3. In late 2016, Dr Fred Bruier authored "UNITED STATES MARINE CORPS EMBLEMS 1804 TO WORLD WAR I". It is essentially Vol 1 of a multi-volume planned study (190+ pages). It goes further back to the rarest of Marine insignia (pre EGA) and covers pretty well the repos and fakes. It is wordy, only shows the fronts of emblems, but is by far the most accurate. It also has a photo appendex to accurately prescribe a timeframe of use for devices. Most collectors eagerly await the release of Vol 2 that should hopefully cover the 1920's to WW2 era.

 

I would say all three are needed for anyone who likes Marine emblems. You could probably find all three for $150 or so.

 

Mike

Usually fetch in the neighborhood of $500-700. Years ago they went for $1000.

 

Hope this helps.

 

Mike

I have noticed recent hammer prices seem to settle at the $600 mark, so this estimate is spot one.

 

As for being in a group to a WWII-Korea Marine, it wasn't uncommon to see such...maybe he got old stock on the shelves, maybe he inherited it...inherited emblems in those days was a pretty common thing

Thanks everyone for your help - this forum is far and above the best around in terms of subject-matter expertise as well a courteous and mature approach to open discussion. This is a relatively scarce combination, and exactly what's necessary for keeping a hobby growing and encouraging a new generation of collectors.

Nice emblem. And a great, accurate look at USMC emblem references by Mike - USMCAviator. Semper Fi! Bob