Badge Makers
& Hallmarks

Hallmarks are markings, often the company name and/or unique design, badge manufacturers place on the back of their finished products to identify the badge maker and other aspects such as issue year and metal content. A badge with the hallmark of a respected manufacturer conveys quality, durability and authenticity and distinguishment from other badges such as “officer seconds”. Almost all agency issue badges will bear a hallmark of some kind, although there are some exceptions.

In most cases yes, but there are a few exceptions. Older agency badges, (prior to 1960) some manufacturers did not place a hallmark on the back of their badges.

Modern agency issued badges will almost always have a hallmark, with the only exception being departments (i.e. Memphis TN Police) who employ a “low bid contract” strategy which often results in non-hallmarked badges issued by the department.

Control numbers are serial numbers, often placed on the back of a badge, for the purpose of identifying the particular officer the badge is issued to.

Some badges display the control number on the front (often referred to as the badge number), while other designs do not accommodate for badge numbers, so the numbers are placed on the back.

Control numbers can be essential if a badge is lost or stolen while also maintaining a tighter control of badge inventories of designs that are identical across the agency.

Most LE agencies will issue 1 to 2 badges to officers and agents for duty. (i.e one for the uniform shirt and another for uniform coat or one for a credentials case and another to wear on the belt). Instead of using their issued badge during duty, many officers will order what is called an “officer second” These badges are usually identical to their issued, but often do not bear a hallmark or control number. These are privately purchased, so the officer owns the badge.

There are some manufacturers that will make officer seconds with hallmarks, but these are almost always not made by the contracted manufacturer of the agency.

So why does an officer need a secondary badge? Losing an authentic issued badge can cause a lot of trouble for an officer including disciplinary action and an investigation into the loss.. If the officer’s second happens to get lost or stolen there are less repercussions as the second does not have any ties to a particular officer if found and they still have their issued badges in tact.

Another reason for an officer second is to preserve the finish and shine of an issued badge for events such as ceremonies. Police duty can work down the finish of any badge with daily wear, sometimes its best for the second to take the daily knocks rather than a shiny issued one.

This is widely debated in the badge collecting world as many collectors consider all four categories as the same… basically if the badge is agency issued its real, anything other than issued is a fake/repro/second. Here are the technical definitions of each:

Reproduction (“repros”) - Badges that are made with the intention of commemoration, movie props, or collection “fillers”. Reproductions, in their truest fashion, do not intend to portray the badge as being authentic and often reinforce this with reproduction hallmarks. Repros can be very high quality (sometimes rivaling the quality of the issued badge it is intending to copy) but its true purpose is not to deceive, but taken more of as a homage or tribute to famous badge designs and agencies.

Fakes - A fake badge is made with the intention of being passed off as “the real deal” an authentic officer second or issued badge. These badges are often very poorly made and can look “off”. There are some overseas companies that are making high quality copies of various badges. The NCSHP badge is one of the most faked/repro’d NC badges.

Seconds (Officer Seconds) - See FAQ above.

Prototypes - When an agency changes badge designs or manufacturers, they are sent prototype badges of what they have created to make sure the specs are correct and the design turns out the way they envisioned. Sometimes, those designs are rejected, but the agencies are free to keep the prototypes. These can be very misleading to collectors and historians because they have all of the hallmarks of an issued badge but not be officially adopted by the agency.