The focus of my collection has been municipalities that qualify as "CITY'S." I have seen some displays of various Top Tens. They were inspiring, but I am a realist. I just knew this would be an impossible task.
I set my goal at obtaining the "Top Three Cities." They were: Newark, Jersey City, and Trenton (State Capital). I had some luck over the over the years, and I did get the "Top Three," plus a couple more.
The goal had to change, and it did. The goal became to collecting something from the "Top Ten." There I haven't been as lucky. I have eight of ten. The Cities of Camden and Clifton have eluded me.
While I looked for "CITY'S" I also ran a parallel collection on badges from the City of Newark. This focus made sense. After all I grew up in the City, and had many contacts in and around Newark. My Dad was with N.P.D. for 37 years, and I was well aquainted with his friends. Collecting here was going to be easy. It only took 40 years to acquire twenty "City" badges worthy of displaying. In the quest for City badges I was fortunate to acquire fifty badges from "non city" municipalities. They turned out to be very worthy of displaying.
This article will present three badges in that Newark Collection that warranted being "put under glass. " There are "twenty" that catch my eye every day. They stand proud in a nice oak case, that hangs neatly on the wall. That's so my wife won't complain. Anybody have a problem like that?
The First Item is a Sergeant's Badge that was issued around World War I. It stayed around about 45 years, and was retired in 1957. It is in good condition showing some signs of its' age. The City Seal is used on Newark badges, and should show clearly in the picture. The seal is similar to the N.J. State Seal, which is used by most municipalities.
The Second Item is also a Sergeant's Badge. This one is in excellent condition. Again note the city seal, and the reverse blue lettering.
The Third Item is a Newark Lieutenant' Badge. This one could be in better condition, but it is not terrible by any means. This badge is believed to have been introduced in the late 1950's.
These three items contribute to making the entire collection of twenty well worth their neat little spot on the wall.
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