WW1 Royal Navy 1919 Mine Clearance Service Badge

The British World War I Mine Clearance Service badge is a large, distinctive metal sleeve or cuff badge worn by Royal Navy personnel who cleared thousands of deadly sea mines immediately after the armistice.

White metal with 2 x lug reverse. Complete with brass backing plate.

Note: The "die crack" flaw is the single most famous indicator of a fake 1919 Royal Navy Mine Clearance Service (MCS) badge.If you see a faint, raised line or surface crack running diagonally from the bottom of the central naval mine up through the top left of the mine, the badge is a replica.

The original die broke shortly after World War I, when the official production run of the genuine white metal badges ended, the original manufacturing die suffered a clean, split fracture across its surface.The mold was salvaged to make fakes: At a later date, a counterfeiter managed to acquire the broken pieces of the original die, glued or joined them back together, and used the repaired mold to cast or strike thousands of reproduction badges.

This example does not have that distinct diagonal die crack marking.

Code: 4630