I am a vendor of cast copied reproduction CEF badges, and my target customers are casual collectors and re-enactors.   Although involved with CEF badges for only a couple of years, I have seen enough to offer some assistance to buyers of WW1 CEF metal insignia. 

The following shows some fairly easy to recognize differences between 100 year old museum artifacts and my cast copies:

1.  CROWN DETAILING

Crown detailing is often the easiest way to recognize a cast copy.  Original crown detailing is sharp and clear with smooth lines.  Fleur-de-Lis, gemstones, crosses, etc are easy to recognize.  Cast copies look like much of the crown details have been "polished away" and are not clear.

2.  LETTER DETAILING

Original letters are crisp and clear, with smooth straight edges and sharp smooth curves.  Cast copy letters are not crisp and can be pitted with small holes.

3.  BACKGROUND TEXTURES

Many CEF badges have subtle texture effects stamped into the background.  These textures are not reproduced during the cast copying process.

4.  BADGE THICKNESS

Die stamped badges are surprisingly flat and thin as they are stamped from a single sheet of metal.  Cast copies are often quite thick by comparison.

5.  BACK DETAILING

The back side of die stamped badges can be almost as high resolution as the front side.  Lettering on the underside is often quite clear and readable.  Even texture effects can be visible on the back side.  Cast copies are rougher, may exhibit file marks, and may have "puddles" of  metal that do not affect the front of the badge, but look sloppy when viewing the back side.

6.  MAKER MARK

WW1 government contract manufacturers normally included the manufacturer's name on the back in very fine lettering.  eBay vendors usually promote this in their auctions.  There is some controversy as to why a WW1 period manufacturer would stamp their mark on most of the badges they produced, but not others.  Be wary of very black badges with maker discs soldered on.

The example below shows a maker mark with raised lettering.  This means the die stamp was manufactured with the raised lettering integrated into the back of the die.  All subsequent impressions made with this manufacturer's die stamp for this badge will include the raised lettering.

The following example shows a maker mark with stamped lettering.  These may have been integrated into back of the original die stamp, or could have been added after manufacture with standard jeweller's letter punches.  The letters are generally quite small, ranging from 1 mm to 1.5 mm high.

Cast copies do not clearly reproduce either type of maker mark.

Thank you,

Ian Parenteau
GlengarryHats.com

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