Lone Ranger Inc. Lone Ranger Deputy Badges - Silver & Gold

I find myself in somewhat of a lull right now with all my series' having been posted. That being said, my collection of Old West badges has a grown over the past month with the addition of these two Lone Ranger badges by Lone Ranger Inc.. "Lone Ranger, Inc." is a Michigan corporation which apparently began in 1933 by radio broadcasting copyrighted dramatic serial stories and is responsible for the licensing of Lone Ranger-related products. This set of two 6-pointed 2" wide badges was made - I believe - in the '50s when the Lone Ranger was at his height of popularity. For those growing up in the '30's through '60s, that show - either on radio or television - was one of the highlights of the week. The radio show starred several people in the title role, but it was Clayton Moore's portrayal of the masked Ranger that is most remembered and most loved. 

There were so many Lone Ranger products manufactured that it's a monumental task just collecting products with his name on it. I have Marx's tin-litho 'Silver City' streetfront, a couple of plastic figures I believe to have been made in Mexico, and now these two badges. The badges are in silver-tone and gold-tone with six points and measure a standard 2" (5.08cm) across. Enjoy! Opa Fritz

A Tale of Two Badges - Pressed Tin Deputy Sheriff Badges Made in Japan

Here's two identical toy made-in-Japan pin-back 'Deputy Sheriff' badges. I'm guessing these were made in the '60s - maybe '70s(?), because that was the heyday of made-in-Japan tin toys. Of course I could be totally off base with my guess but what the heck. These badges are five pointed stars and have no maker's logo on the badge itself and the packaging for each one is nearly identical. The one in the header card bag has the mark of a bird flanked by the letters "I" & "S" inside a diamond. I have a 20-page list of Japanese makers marks and couldn't find any reference to this company. The second badge is missing its header bag but the backer card is only marked "Japan". Enjoy! Opa Fritz

 

Role Playing: There's A New Sheriff In Town

I role playing was kind of a right of passage for youngsters in the '50s and '60s and the favorite roles back then were Cowboy and Indian, American Civil War, Army Man, and Space Man. Because there were soooo many Western's on TV, numerous outfits could be bought for Junior and a lot were licensed to match their favorite TV personality so a little tyke could go as The Lone Ranger, Tonto, Roy Rogers, Zorro, Tom Corbett and others. Personally I remember having Cowboy costumes, Union soldier, and Army Man get-ups. The photo below shows what '50s role playing was like for me. And ya know? Role playing never really went out of style. I can remember a couple of decades back when kids were dressing up like Power Rangers to satiate that fad. Today the favorites are Super Heroes and Star Wars. Of course I'm talking from a boys perspective but the girls have their day in costume as well with the huge presence of Disney Princesses almost  flooding the aisles wherever girls toys and clothes are sold.

As I was going through the box of miscellaneous Western toys I came across several badges, two of which were vintage Roy Rogers and one a modern day souvenir from Bonnie Springs Old Nevada. Badges were a pretty popular accoutrement to role playing and were used not only for Cowboy and Western but also for playing a more modern day Policeman or Detective. As a kid I remember having badges from both Old West Sheriff's and modern Detective sets. I can't say whether the badges shown here today were exactly like the ones I had as a kid but they make nice little addition to the rest of the Western toys in the collection. I have no clue as to who made any of these badges so. Enjoy! Opa Fritz and Oma Bettina

From 1959 is a 6 year old me playing Cowboy

The Roy Rogers badges are made of a heavy brass with an integral pin on the back, and measure approx 2 1/4" (5.71cm) across.

The Old Nevada souvenir badge is a much cheaper tin and would have had a fold over tab to 'pin' it to your shirt (the tab is broken off). It measures 1 7/8" (4.63cm) across