Unusual chained BDM bronze achievement badge with "IB"

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Has anybody ever encountered one of these chained BDM Proficiency Clasps? The seller claims this was worn during skiing, to keep the pin clasp from falling off. That doesn't sound right to me, but I don't know enough about these clasp to refute it.

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To me its just added decoration . This should not up the price of the clasp .
 
Another thing I thought was strange was the letter "I" before the B28271.
 
To me its just added decoration . This should not up the price of the clasp .
Joe, the GPB collectors would not be happy to read this....when a GPB with added safety attachment turns up, its hugged and kissed to death, the crowds roar.... it should, no, imho MUST, raise the sales price of the item by at least 0,001%! It might even be solid gold ....
Nice touch though .. shows you how much folk valued stuff back then, because these things were not that expensive, and replacemnets could be bought.. so it`s nice to see them, occasionally.
To be fair though, BS aside, i do think that it raises the price a little, its like having "another version" in your collection..IF you collected only these, then i could well see a collector prepared to pay a little more for it just because of the personal catch added.
 
Another thing I thought was strange was the letter "I" before the B28271.

I haven't seen that before either and when that happens the old alarm bell goes off. The instant explanation is that the badge originally had just the 'B' and that someone has added the rest to bump up the value. I see a difference in the font between the letters and numbers and the strikes look quite fresh. Obviously the 'I' makes no sense at all. Anyone else have any thoughts?

Edit: The "IB" is explained in post #9 below.
 
The instant explanation is that the badge originally had just the 'B' and that someone has added the rest to bump up the value. I see a difference in the font between the letters and numbers and the strikes look quite fresh. Obviously the 'I' makes no sense at all. Anyone else have any thoughts?

The 'I' and the 'B' are the same font, which makes me think they were done together. The numbers are thinner and more fine. The wear on the cloth looks very convincing to me. The chain appears to be of the exact same metal as the medal on the clasp. I really have no idea on this one, but I would like to find out.
 
I agree. The badge itself looks fine and the chain makes sense. It's just the prefix and the relatively sharp numbers that worry me. Incidentally, this very badge is shown in the Forman book "Guide to Third Reich German Awards and Their Values - 3rd Edition" item 255. I don't own the book, someone sent me a scan of the page a few years ago. Anyway, the badge is credited to Dr Klietmann. He's the guy incidentally who thinks that the BM1/122 HJ honour badges are okay... Anyway, doesn't mean that the BDM bronze is bad but as I say, I don't like the prefix IB. It makes no sense and we know how these badges should be marked.

Edit: The "IB" is explained in post #9 below.

Just an aside on the BDM achievement badges; beware of any silver level badge with anything more than a high-ish 4 figure number because these are likely to be humped up bronze badges. The numbers of silver awarded based on period documents currently available will not allow for numbers higher than this.

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, I don't like the prefix IB. It makes no sense and we know how these badges should be marked.
And the S marked HJ-Leistungsabzeichen? Neither man nor beast know what the S means, but the vast majority l♥ve em :sad: i guess its a double edged sword with stuff that "shouldnt" be there, and textbook stuff.
Page 264, it sure is pictured in "that" book.
 
And the S marked HJ-Leistungsabzeichen? Neither man nor beast know what the S means, but the vast majority l♥ve em :sad: i guess its a double edged sword with stuff that "shouldnt" be there, and textbook stuff.
Page 264, it sure is pictured in "that" book.

I found the answer to that 'IB' marking just now Jo and Sir Payne. The 'B' has the usual meaning of 'replacement badge'. The I is a number and stands for: Leistungsabzeichen I Bronze (bronze BdM achievement badge). This is mentioned in an RJF announcement dated 23.5.1935 where they are talking about replacements for badges that had been lost by some BDM members.

Totally happy with the badge in post #1 now
 
I found the answer to that 'IB' marking just now Jo. The 'B' has the usual meaning of 'replacement badge'. The I is a number and stands for: Leistungsabzeichen I Bronze (bronze achievement badge). This is mentioned in an RJF announcement dated 23.5.1935 where they are talking about replacements for badges that had been lost by some BDM members.

Totally happy with the badge in post #1 now
Happy Happy Joy Joy..... (the Ren & Stimpy song from the early 1990`s.)
 
Problem now is that I'm going to have to find out why 'IB' is so seldom seen. I'm wondering whether they went over to just the 'B' at some point.
 
Possibly, the HJ Ehrenzeichen in Gold went the same way, first Numbered, then B plus number, then just B.

Very possibly Jo. The regulations say that replacements were marked with a "B" so yes, I guess that for manufacturers it made no difference whether they added just a "B" to the reverse of a replacement or put a B before the serial number. The BdM badge shows a third variation with the "IB" so as long as the B is there then the regulation is being satisfied. It would be great to find some order concerning this so that we can hone in on when the change happened but I imagine that it was driven by manufacturers looking to save time.

Here are some early (initial issue) BDM achievement badges showing that "I" (Leistungsabzeichen I) before the serial number:

http://www.hj-research.com/forum/f2...l-achievement-badges-29/index2.html#post13644
 
It's good to know what it is now; although it is is bittersweet since I never picked this one up.:crying:
 
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