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Condition: Excellent
Maker: B.H. Mayer
Base Material: Zinc
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Product Description: This Panzer Assault Badge in Bronze is a mid-war piece, made of a stamped zinc alloy. Most of the original bronze finish has faded, with the exception of the reverse hardware which has retained the finish. The front of this piece is clean, with smooth surfaces. It shows some light wear, and traces of the original bronze finish can be seen in the recesses of the design. The reverse is also nice and clean, and is unmarked, though this variant is known to have been made by the firm of B.H. Mayer. The hardware setup is textbook for this variant, with a round wire pin, and sheet metal hinge and catch. The pin is functional, and the hinge and catch are unrepaired. This Panzer Assault Badge in Bronze is a desirable and completely untouched piece, in excellent condition.
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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