Description
Product Description: This 50 Engagement Bronze Panzer Assault Badge is a very rare badge. This exquisite award is made of two pieces of fine zinc. Nearly all of the original, factory applied bronze finish is still intact. This original finish is nice, with great color and shine, and appealing golden tones. The front of this badge shows virtually no wear and retains all of the original detail. This badge is an early production type, made before the eagle’s talons became dulled from die failure. The “50” numeral box is correct, with the original dark finish in the recesses. The impressive large tank emblem is tightly held to the wreath with textbook aluminum rivets that have never been messed with. The reverse of this badge shows typical age patina and minimal fading to the finish. There is no maker mark, but this variant is known to have been made by the firm of Josef Feix & Söhne, in Gablonz an der Neiße. The hardware setup is functional and all-original, with a textbook crimped in place hinge and catch. The catch has the expected “anti-rotation” device in the recess. Around the base of the catch crimp is the die’s oblong raised mark, as seen on many numbered Panzer badges by JFS. This is an absolutely textbook and beautiful rare 50 Bronze Panzer Assault Badge that would be difficult or impossible to upgrade. The condition rates as excellent, bordering on near mint.
Historical Description: Instituted on June 22, 1943, the new grades of the Panzer Assault Badge were in a direct response to the increasing number of soldiers which had continued to accumulate “combat days” after they had met the initial requirements of the standard version. By 1943, the German High Command (OKW) realized the war would not be over as quickly as hoped for, and the need to recognize their soldiers at the front would require a new type of award and criteria. The four grades created by the German High Command were “25”, “50”, “75”, & “100”. The requirements for the Numbered Panzer Assault Badge were like the standard version with the main difference now being the number of combat days required corresponded to the number on the award. For example, the Panzer Assault Badge with a “25” box would have required the soldier to have 25 combat assaults on 25 different days. Many soldiers in the German Army did not live to see the required “combat days” for the higher grades. This especially holds true for the higher “75” and “100” grades of the award. The numbered grades used the same design pattern as the standard version. However, the new grades of the Panzer Assault Badge have more enhanced features such as enlarged eagle and wreath, with the addition of a number box at the bottom of the wreath to denote grade.
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