Alderman Badges

Few badge collectors pay a lot of attention to aldermanic badges. In the beginning of American urban history before most cities had police departments, law enforcement, was the responsibility of the aldermen in their wards. Even today an alderman’s badge conveys some police authority. The badges come in all shapes and sizes. Many are in gold and can be very impressive looking. Here for example is an alderman’s star badge from Oshkosh, Wisconsin circa 1890‘s. Unfortunately it is not named or marked but interestingly it is gold faced on the obverse.