posted on October 30, 2000 07:03:45 PM
I have a "Bridge Police Badge" from the SS J. W....what is the J. W? I bought it from a man who fought in WWII. Anyone know what ship the J. W. was?
posted on October 30, 2000 08:04:15 PM
I looked for a submarine that had a name with the initials of J.W. - no luck. You might want to look at this website to see what you can find. http://www.nvr.navy.mil/quick/INDEX.HTM
posted on October 30, 2000 09:38:20 PM
Good guess about a submarine for the SS. But using that designation, the letters should have been followed by numbers. Plus WWII subs were named after fish and other water animals.
"SS" typically stands for steamship (a civilian designation). The "JW" looks like an abbreviation for a person's name. A lot of the liberty ships built to carry military cargo late in the war were named after soldiers who had been killed.
posted on October 31, 2000 07:20:49 AMdialin4dollars
If you could post an image of the insignia, it would help to further identify your SS Police item.
jmjones6061
Military patches are very collectible and are always enjoyable to sell. They also provide a historical glimpse into our Countries past. Some patches may be worth 2 or 3 dollars while others may be worth a car payment!
First, as with any collectible, arm yourself with knowledge. Visit several Auction sites and take a look at what they are selling for. A few good reference books are worth their weight in gold, and always a great investment which will bring you a quick return on $$ and time.
I stopped selling my Militaria items eBay as they are saturated, too many deadbeat bidders, constant outages, fees etc. Yahoo has an abundance of deadbeat bidders in my opinion.
I sell all sorts of collectibles when I can find them. I sell my Military items at Militaria Collectibles Auction Haus. They can be found at: http://www.militaria-collectibles.com
They have two great patch reference books located within their retail sales catalog:
PATCH INSIGNIA OF THE U.S. ARMED FORCES, 1941-1945
Item #: 507847
Description: SHOULDER SLEEVE INSIGNIA OF THE U.S. ARMED FORCES, 1941-1945; Richard W. Smith. Format: Hardcover, 8.75 x 11.5 inches, 251 pages, 1st Edition, 1981. Army Groups, Armies, Army Corps, Armored Corps, Army Divisions, Phantom Divisions, Armored Force & Divisions, Cavalry, Chemical Mortor Battalions, Infantry, Artillery, Engineers, Service Commands, Training Units, HQs Commands and Departments, Misc Army Units, Airborne, AAF, USMC, Navy & Sea Forces, Civilians in Uniform, and much more. Text descriptions and historical facts with color and B&W plates. If you collect U.S. patches from WWII, this hardcover book should be a part of your collection as an invaluable reference.
