The "Special Agent" stamping on it seems poorly done, i.e., the bottom of the 'T' in Agent is right on the edge of the badge, and the whole "bend" of the word looks wrong. It looks like to me that someone did a really poor reproduction of what they thought looked "railroady". I don't know jack about badges, but a two-tone one with the brass in the middle seems really odd and more like a decorative element to illicit a purchase. I would think the real railroads would be more practical and have a single metal item.

I just now sent the seller a question asking "Is this item authentic or a reproduction?"

I'll let you know what (if any) response I receive.

If I was going to let loose of that amount of $ it would be on a kit..... Even if it was legit.


Ben

Response received from seller:

"i have never seen a handmade reproduction. they are always mass produced and molded. it is marked sterling. it is not a reproduction. i stated so."


What say you?

No # on the badge, is a big tip off to me that it is not genuine.

The train image is to new also.

These are just my impressions since I have no knowledge one way or the other.

Tom

I said no mainly because of the poor quality of the back and clasp. I not nothing about Railway badges but have seen both real and fake military badges and insignia (repos are churned out in Europe nowadays) Real ones tend to look high quality from all angles.

Okay, Crew...Clang! Clang! Time's up, put down your mice and keyboards. If you voted 'No', as all of you did, smart choice. And no one got goosey, either, with '...well, this might be one example of an...' or '...further research may bear out the fact that...' It's not only a fake, it's a piece of junk, too! [:-bigmouth] Let's go to the videotape! You all made good observations. First, just look at the badge. This is a 'shield' type badge common in the 19th Century with a casting of a modern steam loco attached to it. Next, the lettering. The words 'Railway Express' appear to have been engraved, but the words 'special agent' have definitely been added later using a router-type method. The lettering is rounded at the ends where the cutting stopped and is offset in places. Ahhhhhh...Sterling! Yes, it's true. The seller is NOT fibbing...it really DOES say 'sterling' on the back! [:-dopey] But, this might as well refer to Rod Sterling because this badge is definitely from The Twilight Zone. Just because 'Sterling' is stamped on the back is meaningless and dosen't indicate the actual composition of the metal at all unless tested live and in front of you! Again, this is a great case of lying by ommission. The seller said it is not a repro...it is genuine and hand made. And rightly so...genuine and hand made in his basement! And one last point...just what does 'Railway Express' refer to? [:-dunce] the American Railway Express was founded in 1839. Is this it? The Railway Express Agency was formed in 1929. Is this it? I believe we have a modified toy badge here being listed by a seller who has some talking and fancy dancing to do. [}] Good job, Guys!

This is cool! I can see a new TV show coming from all this ...id="Comic Sans MS">id="size3">


CSI: Railroad-Lineid="size5">id="Courier New">
... seriously; great stuff. I knew I didn't trust it but I didn't know why. I have learned a lot!

Joe id="size2">

And the seller is probably anxiously awaiting my bid, now that he has assured me it is genuine. [:-devil]

I contacted this seller through the "Ask the seller a question" feature on the listing...this is his response as to what the badge's history is (complete with grammar and spelling intact):

'in 1929 Wells Fargo and the American Express Railway Co. merged to form the Railway Express Co. this was one of those first badges worn by the Special Agent on the Railway who was to insure delivery of all goods & protect shipments from theft and robbery.'

[:-bigmouth][:-bigmouth] WRONG!id="Arial Black"> [:-bigmouth]id="size4">[:-bigmouth]

According to Wikipedia:
'On November 1, 1866 Wells Fargo & Co. purchased the stage and Pony Express operations from Ben Holladay. At this time, there were several express companies; however, by 1914 there were only seven. During World War I these seven companies were consolidated at the direction of the US Federal Government into one nationwide organization, the American Railway Express Agency. In 1929 the nation's railroads bought the express business and changed the name to Railway Express Agency, Inc.'

The badge is marked simply 'Railway Express', not Railway Express Company (which never existed) and certainly not Railway Express Agency, which it was ALWAYS known as, and never shortened to 'Railway Express' or ever referred to as 'Railway Express Co.'. Obviously the seller is trying to make history fit the story that he is making up about the badge and we have him cold! [:-mischievous] Another eBay scam exposed by the sharp-eyed crew of railroad-line! [:-magnify]

Russ,

I am curious now, doesn't Ebay frown heavily on this type of fraud. I understand they might not know, but if he was reported they would. Seems like the public should know.

My second question is, do items like this go for that much money? Seems like a lot of pesos for a badge to me, but yellow boxes go for good money too. Just curious.

Glad we have a Russ on our team.

eBay is seller driven...that's where the money comes from, through the seller's fees. eBay doesn't have to approve an item prior to the item being listed. This is the reason why controversial items or services are pulled only AFTER they are listed. Those cases usually involve someone selling a large block of fake concert tickets for enourmous prices, someone trying to sell body parts, crazy things like that. If you notice, no one has bid on this badge. First, his description is so poorly written that you get a sense of something being not quite right to begin with! The seller, in part, has given himself away, too, by starting the opening bid at 200.00. He's trying to get his money in one shot...no reserve, no real bidding opportunity. REAL badges will be bid up by collectors...the seller may have an opening bid of, say, 9.95, but also have a reserve of 75.00 to cover the original investment. You will see REAL badges, especially the railroad police/detective/special agent type badges sell for up to a couple of hundred bucks. I paid just over 300.00 for my Erie RR hat badge, but there was no question that it's the real thing. I paid about 50.00 too much for it in a bidding war, but I was prepared to get it for more than that if I had to. It's one of the most collected hat badges out there and commands that type of money. The lesson here is to do your homework. Collecting isn't anything to stay away from, but read the books, articles, websites, etc. on what you want to collect. Get an understanding of the prices, what role physical condition plays in the pricing, and what the scams are. My wife and I constantly buy on eBay. We also sell stuff, too, and I'm going to list some extra MRR stuff soon. eBay is a great place to get things you like to collect or to get stuff that you wouldn't normally find elsewhere. BUT you have to ask questions, read the descriptions, and not assume anything. Most sellers are legit, but there are people that are selling things because someone told them an item was original, vintage, etc. and they got suckered and just don't know what they have or they know what they have is a fake and they're trying to pass it off.