ORLANDO SHOW ANNOUNCED

TO THE BADGE COLLECTING COMMUNITY,

The 2015 Vacation Capital Police Collectors Show will be held in Orlando, Florida on Saturday, September 5, 2015.  Make plans now to attend this fabulous show, and then spend the weekend enjoying the attractions.  Enjoy the sights of Orlando from the new “Orlando Eye”, Ferris wheel for a spectacular view of Orlando, 400 feet in the air. Or visit the Madame Tussauds Wax Museum or the SEA LIFE Aquarium.  New restaurants and attractions are all within walking distance from the hotel.  Book your hotel reservations early.Follow us on Facebook at 2015 Vacation Capital Police Collectors Show. Please feel free to pass along our flyer through your email contact list. Hope to See You There.

You're Show Host.

Doug Sarubbi

NEW ADDITION TO CITY COLLECTION: ATLANTIC CITY

Now, I thought the "City Collection" was done quite a while ago. Guess not, as I recently obtained this beauty at a badge show in Florida.

My first thought was, where am I going to place it. There just isn't much room in the display case I have, and there isn't any room on the wall for a bigger case (Just ask my wife).

I decided to do the old squeeze play.  That means I moved some smaller old detective shields closer making room for this ancient badge from Atlantic City, N.J.

The shape is quite common in NJ, and has become my favorite. The item is made in a generic form for various (several hundred) municipalities. A State Seal is stamped into the badge, along with the letters "NJ" at the bottom. When a community made a purchase, the agency name was stamped into the top panels. In this case the panels read "Atlantic City - Police." 

On the bottom of the badge is a number box. Normally numbers are added here, but not on this badge with rank. Instead there is a full panel that contains the word "Sergeant" in reverse blue lettering. As Sergeant Badges go, this one isn't very impressive, and looks like "all the others (Just ask my wife)." 

What makes this badge different, is what you can't see. Forget the shape, the stamped State Seal, and the identification panels. Forget the worn, black enamel filled lettering at the top. What makes this a badge of interest, for me, is it comes from a municipality designated to be a "City." Out of N.J.'s 500+ municipalities there are only 45-50 legitimate Cities. 

In addition this badge comes from New Jersey's  most popular tourist destination. It is well known through out the world for its gorgeous beach, Boardwalk, Steel Pier, and Casino's.

These facts are important. They make this addition to my collection very desirable and collectible  (Now where is my wife so I can explain all these facts)". 

Well without taking up any additional wall space I have placed this badge in my City Collection, where it is one of thirty-eight (38). As an "A" it rests near the top (The wife told me to alphabetize my collections, and I listened). It is in a nice oak case, under glass, with lock and key. I am quite happy to have it, as well as the fond memories I have from the Board Walk and yearly Conventions in Old A.C. 

LIEUTENANT, NEW ADDITION TO NEWARK COLLECTION

This is definitely a find. It is a Newark PD "Lieutenant's" Badge. This one is marked number 61.

This shape is the same as the Sergeant's badge, with identical stamped wording for: Police, and Newark, NJ.

The top panel is for the rank. The lettering here is recessed with enamel fill. The number box is made the same way.

This design was phased out during the 1950's. There were not that many badges made for N.P.D.'s Lieutenants, probably less then 100, so this item is quite rare.

I know this is a keeper and will place it with some other beautiful antiques from Newark - my old home town. Of course that was a century or so ago. There are many memories from "My City" and these badges make one or two flash in front of me as I make my daily check of what has become, after 45 years, one fabulous collection.

ANOTHER "UNIQUE" NEWARK ITEM

This is both old and unique. At first glance it looks like an old Sergeant Badge issued prior to 1957. It is in fairly decent shape considering its age.

What struck me first was the Seal located at dead center. It is most definitely the City Seal of Newark, NJ. The words: "Police" and Newark, NJ" were the next areas of this badge that jumped at me. They are stamped into badge shell and look exactly like the Sergeants shield.

The next sections are rather odd. At the top, and bottom are panels with blue recessed lettering. The top reads: "Asst. Chief Identification," and the bottom panel says, "Officer." Also sitting there is the number 6.

In the day Newark had a section called "R & I."   This was Records and Identification, and I believe it was staffed by police officers. This rank shield just might be something a civilian employee brought in when they were hired to do some of the work. I really don't recall that there ever was an officer tittle called Asst. Chief.

I suspect that when the current Sergeant's shield was introduced in 1957 some of the old badges became available and new titles suddenly emerged on the scene.

I thought this was certainly an unusual badge, so I put it with other items that I refer to as Newark "Uniques." It is a cool badge, and I am glad to have  it looking over my shoulder, where it tells me tall tales of my City a lifetime ago.

CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW

This badge is going in my Newark Unique Badge Collection. It is old. It is in pretty good condition. It is definitely cool. 

Leave it to Newark to have issued a badge for the "Telephone Operator." That is just what they did. From the looks of it this item dates back to the 1930's.

It is a badge that is built over a Sergeant or Lieutenants badge. The necessary changes were accomplished by adding two panels to the original version of the badge. The top new panel reads "Telephone" and the bottom "new" panel reads "Operator." The number 22 is also picked up on this panel.

The sections of the badge that read "Police" and "Newark, NJ" are part of original badge. The letters are stamped into position from the rear.

In the center of the item is a Seal from the City of Newark. It looks to be set on the badge prior to plating.

This particular shape badge was rendered obsolete in mid 1950's.

Little else is known about it, but it seems worthy of display. I think I will keep it, along with the other 28 unique items from Newark.

TITUSVILLE 2015

The wife and I did the Titusville Show on Jan. 24. It was held, once again, in the Elks Club. There was plenty of room, and some 80 tables were taken up by Displays.

After writing articles for PC News for several years now, I finally got to meet Mike Bondarenko the Publisher of the paper. We enjoyed a very nice chat near the end of the show, and the good news is, I wasn't fired. There was more good news; He will write the report for the paper. Maybe he'll pick out some of my thoughts or use a picture or two.

I like taking pictures, almost as I like collecting badges.

That me, Dennis Beyer. I am showing that I still am the best dressed guy in town with my multi colored shirt and display of old Newark NJ badges

 The young man above is Chad Harris. He has been attending shows for years, and helped me a few years ago with a nice badge from Newark. Chad works in Jacksonville which explains why he had all those badges from the UK. Naturally he won Best Badge Display.

John Holmes is pictured here with his fine collection that he has been hiding from the wife, but she has now put the law down - "Get rid of some things - talk to me". That is one thing you can always do at these shows is talk to John.

Rick Amos is another man that is always at the shows. He is standing behind his fine collection of badges from California. He also had a beautiful .44 cal magnum and ID for Dirty Harry.

This fine gentlemen is Glenn Russell who was caught at a table with some interesting law enforcement items.

This fine man is Det. Doug Sarubbi. He not only attends these shows, He usually wins. This year was no different. Doug won overall Best Overall Display.

Steve and Karen Bridges. They host the Titusville Show. Steve is retired from the Titusville P.D.

Sitting at his table, holding court, is Sam Goldstein, retired West Palm Beach Sheriff's Sergeant. He too is at all the Florida Shows, and this year negotiated a fine badge to add to one of my NJ displays.

This young lady is Renee Dixon. She was pictured with some of many patches she had at her table on display or for sale. 

ANOTHER YEAR GONE, SOME GAINS IN 2014

The year 2014 was pretty good, although I still have not obtained the Newark Star that sits on top of this post.

Pictured here is the primary collection - Newark. It certainly has grown. It was the key to two trophies in 2014. That made the year fantastic.

In the center of the Newark case I have nine treasures. They cover the middle of the collection. The old hat badge, number C-93, is just outside the main focus, on the left perimeter. It is part of a rare matching radiator set for the rank of Chanceman.

Featured in the middle are two second edition badges, four old Detective Badges, and an older Sergeant shield.

Completing the perimeter (left, right, top) are eight "Old  Ovals." They are in number order going from another number 93 (Right corner) to a high 700 (Left corner). 

I feel good about having these hat badges. They are very collectible. They look nice surrounding my treasures, but I just might have to get a bigger display case in 2015 if I get another "treasure."  That would be a nice addition this year.

If I ever get the "Star" I guess I will have to get a much bigger display case. Maybe it should be displayed alone. Hope I can figure that out in 2015. 

Well in 2015, with your help, I will acquire that Newark Star. While I wait for it I will keep telling you about the remainder of the collection.