Wyatt Earp Marshall Badge - 1957

I've said it before, but watching Western's on the television was a huge part of my childhood. They were everywhere and Saturday's and Sunday's were full of shows like Roy Rogers, Wild Bill Hickock, Gene Autry, The Lone Ranger, The Cisco Kid and a plethora of more. Weeknights offered up a whole other round of Western's like Gunsmoke, Bonanza, and the subject of today's post The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp - a series on ABC which ran from 1955-61 starring Hugh O'Brien in the title role and was the first Western TV show written for an adult audience. As usual, there were licensed toy tie-ins to the show and today's featured toy was a badge made in 1957. As a kid, I know I had Sheriff or Marshal badges but for the life of me can't remember if they were licensed tie-in's or just generic. Still, it's an interesting sub-set of collecting that doesn't use a lot of space out in The Cave. The badge itself is of the 6-pointed star type and measures 2" across from an unknown manufacturer. Badges were also made in 5-pointed star, and shield-type varieties. Enjoy! Opa Fritz

Marshal's Badge - Cast Metal Pin-Back

Among my Old West toys is a small collection of toy badges, a couple of which have already been posted here on the blog. This recent acquisition is a really nice pin-back Marshall's badge measuring 2" (5.08cm) across. It's cast metal vs. tin litho like some of my other badges and as a toy it is pretty substantial as you can tell by the photos. And that makes me wonder if this was actually a toy! A real badge maybe? A movie prop? There are no maker's marks anywhere and there is no badge number on it so your guess is as good as mine! Enjoy! Opa Fritz