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RARE WW2 Army USAAF 3in Sterling Gold Fill Flight Surgeon Wing Balfour Pinback
RARE WW2 Army USAAF 3in Sterling Gold Fill Flight Surgeon Wing Balfour Pinback
RARE WW2 Army USAAF 3in Sterling Gold Fill Flight Surgeon Wing Balfour Pinback
RARE WW2 Army USAAF 3in Sterling Gold Fill Flight Surgeon Wing Balfour Pinback
RARE WW2 Army USAAF 3in Sterling Gold Fill Flight Surgeon Wing Balfour Pinback
RARE WW2 Army USAAF 3in Sterling Gold Fill Flight Surgeon Wing Balfour Pinback
RARE WW2 Army USAAF 3in Sterling Gold Fill Flight Surgeon Wing Balfour Pinback

RARE WW2 Army USAAF 3in Sterling Gold Fill Flight Surgeon Wing Balfour Pinback

$ 224.4

Availability: 100 in stock
  • Country/Region of Manufacture: United States
  • Region of Origin: United States
  • Conflict: WW II (1939-45)
  • Condition: RARE, ORIGINAL, used, pristine, bright, full size, 3 inch, WWII USAAF GOLD FILL FLIGHT SURGEON wings. Minty wing with little wear or obverse patina. Highly desirable LGB Louis Garfield Balfour riveted pinback badge stamped from solid sheet of heavy sterling silver with mechanically applied 1/20 10K gold fill. Double hallmarked "BALFOUR 1/20 10K GF" on reverse of left caduceus wing and "LGB 1/20 10K GF" behind center lozenge. Horizontal pin and roller catch work perfectly.
  • Modified Item: No
  • Theme: Militaria
  • All returns accepted: ReturnsNotAccepted
  • Original/Reproduction: Original

    Description

    RARE
    Original World War II 3 Inch 10K Gold Fill on Sterling Silver U.S. Army Air Corps Flight Surgeon Wing
    Pinback - Fully intact!
    Among the rarest and most desirable of WWII USAAF Wings!
    Louis Garfield Balfour (LGB), Attleboro, Massachussets
    These
    original, full size, 3 inch
    , US Army Air Corps Flight Surgeon Wings by BALFOUR are a premium World War II aviation collectible.  BALFOUR wings, in general, are among the most detailed designs and are highly sought after by collectors.  These wings are multi-part sterling silver construction.  Effectively, a sterling BALFOUR AAF Observers wing and a sterling Medical Corps caduceus were stamped from a sheet of sterling silver.  After gold fill (mechanically applied 10K gold), the two emblems were rivetted together to create the Flight Surgeon Wings.  Then a hinged pin and roller catch were soldered to the reverse side.  The device is hallmarked "BALFOUR 1/20 10K GF" at the left wing root of caduceus on the reverse side.  This is the heavier mechanically applied gold fill (not mere gold plate) annotation.  The device is incuse marked "LGB 1/20 10K GF" behind the central Observer Wing lozenge.
    The gold Flight Surgeon Wings were established February 11, 1943, but were changed to silver on September 12, 1944 by order of the Army Air Forces (supposedly ordered by USAAF Commanding General, Henry 'Hap' Arnold, himself) so that the wings colors of all aviation personnel would be uniform (silver color).
    So, the gold Flight Surgeon wings were only authorized for wear for 1 year, 7 months!  This contributes to the scarcity of nice gold color examples, which are highly prized among aviation collectors.
    I have had a few gold Flight Surgeon wings over my collecting career, but these superb BALFOUR wings are the nicest example ever!
    TERMS:
    Immediate payment by PayPal or Ebay Payments
    Direct shipping from Seller to USA Buyers only.
    Overseas shipping outside USA available via Ebay Global Shipping Program (GSP) only.
    Ebay no longer permits Buyers or Sellers the OPTION of Postal Insurance.  To insure an article of this value, the SELLER (only) must bundle Insurance into the listing price.  In the case of this valuable badge, Postal Insurance costs .00 in addition to postage.  Total Insured Shipping then is .00 for this item.