Panzer Assault Badge in Silver – Unmarked Frank & Reif

Product Description: This Panzer Assault Badge in Silver is a gorgeous example, that displays exceptionally nicely. It’s made of fine zinc. The front of this badge retains nearly all of the original, thick silver plating, which retains loads of the original shine. There is some extremely light finish wear to high points and edges, but no loss of original detail. The reverse of this Panzer Assault Badge in Silver is flat, and has some freckling to the silver finish. There is no manufacturer marking, but this variant is known to have been manufactured by the firm of Frank und Reif, in Stuttgart. The hardware setup on this badge is textbook for a Frank & Reif, with a soldered sheet metal hinge, round wire pin, and a catch with a soldered catch plate. The hardware is functional, and shows no signs of repair. This is a handsome example of a desirable Panzer war badge, and it remains in excellent condition.

Historical Description: The Panzer Assault Badge was instituted on December 20^th, 1939.    It was awarded in the silver grade to Panzer crewman who met the combat requirements. On June 1^st, 1940, following the start of the blitzkrieg against France, the bronze grade was introduced to award armoured reconnaissance, motorcycle riflemen, and panzer-grenadier units.  The requirements for both versions were the same, the soldier must have participated in three combat assaults on three separate days to be eligible.       

 The design of the Standard Panzer Assault Badge consists of an oakleaf wreath surrounding a Panzer (Tank) with the German National Eagle positioned at the top clutching a swastika.  The Standard Panzer Assault Badges can still be a common occurrence at local gun and military shows even now.  The German Army had tens of thousands of Panzer crewmen who became eligible for the award as the war progressed.  Because of the large number of soldiers who had fulfilled the requirements to wear the award, a high demand for producing of the Panzer Assault Badge was needed.  In response to this, approximately 35 manufacturers were authorized to produce the award between 1939 and 1945.  Many of these manufacturers created their own version of the badge by artistically designing their own version of the eagles, wreath’s, and tanks on the badge.  The design of one Panzer badge may not be identical to the next one encountered.  This makes the collecting of the different manufacturers and their variants its own niche in the hobby.

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