Badge Collecting

As a badge collector I quickly learned that most badges become available after the death of the original owner, the spouse and sometimes the children or grandchildren. Where the badge will end up being sold from is often not the city of issue. As a result it is interesting to see from where the badges are offered. Over the years I have purchased Milwaukee badges from sellers located in many popular retirement places like Florida, California, Missouri, Arizona and New Mexico. My most recent badge buy is a 1920’s-30’s era 10k gold star named to Morris Stern who sat on the Board of Appeals which deals with real estate zoning questions. The name is a classic Jewish name. I also know that Israel was founded in 1948 and attracted large numbers of settlers on a country building mission. So finding out that this badge came from an estate in Israel was not a surprise. It does however hold the distance record for any of my badge purchases. It is interesting to think of all the wars and terrorist acts this badge may have survived.