Condition: Excellent
Maker: Adolf Scholze
Pattern: 1st Pattern
Base Material: Tombak
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Product Description: We are pleased to be able to offer this lovely tombak A.S. Panzer Assault Badge in Silver. This variant is one of the very earliest Panzer badges, as well as being one of the rarest makers to find today. The Tombak (brass alloy) base metal is associated with top quality, early badges, and this one is no exception. The front of this badge is extremely attractive. Approximately 95 percent of the original silver finish is intact, with slight wear that exposes some of the golden tones of the brass alloy base metal. The original finish has lovely, uncleaned toning, with some nice pastel blue tones. The original detail remains extremely strong. The reverse of this tombak A.S. Panzer Assault Badge in Silver retains virtually all of the finish, and is extremely clean. The distinctive, stylized “A.S” manufacturer marking on the back of the tank indicates manufacture by the firm of Adolf Scholz. The hinge and pin are all original, with the original crimps still holding the hinge in place. As with most examples of these rare badges found today, the catch has been repaired at some point. This badge is in excellent condition overall, and would be very tough to upgrade.
Historical Description: The Panzer Assault Badge was instituted on December 20th, 1939. It was awarded in the silver grade to Panzer crewman who met the combat requirements. On June 1st, 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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