Railroad Police Badges are an exciting and rewarding collectible!  Railroad Police badges date back to the 1850's and represent over 700 different railroad companies.  Railroad Police badges are made of everything from tin, copper and nickel to sterling silver and even solid 14K gold.  Some badges called "presentation badges" have gems such as diamonds and rubies attached to them.  Some other badges are custom die with beautiful raised railroad logos in full color enamel.  Railroad police badges come in all different price ranges, most under $200.00 and some as low as 100.00.  Some of the rarer badges such as Southern Pacific Railroad "sterling silver" stars can reach up to a $1,000.00 each.  It dosen't take long to put together an impressive collection. It might be easier to collect badges from one or two favorite railroads or the state or region you live in.  Attempting to put a collection together of stars from Chicago area railroads is another interesting way to start a collection.  Today there are about 75 active serious collectors of railroad police badges.  Where do you find old badges?  Flea markets, yard sales, antique shows, gun and military shows, railroadiana shows, police badge shows, railroadiana auctions, antique auctions, internet, and eBay are places that old railroad police badges usually pop up.  Collecting old railroad badges is a rewarding and enjoyable hobby.