Fake Royal Artillery Cap Badges

Introduction: The Royal Artillery and Its Iconic Cap Badge

The Royal Regiment of Artillery, more commonly known as the Royal Artillery, has been a cornerstone of the British Army since its formal establishment in 1716. Tasked with providing firepower on land—from field guns and howitzers, anti-aircraft systems, to modern missile systems—the regiment has played a pivotal role in nearly every major British military campaign over the past three centuries.

The Royal Artillery cap badge is one of the most instantly recognisable in British military history. It features a cannon (field gun) facing left, surmounted by a crown and the regimental motto "Ubique" (Latin for "Everywhere") above the scroll "Quo Fas Et Gloria Ducunt" ("Where Right and Glory Lead"). This intricate and symbolic design has adorned forage caps, service dress caps, and berets worn by generations of gunners.

With such a long and proud tradition, it's no surprise that Royal Artillery cap badges have become highly collectible. Unfortunately, their popularity has also made them a common target for reproductions and fakes—some obvious, others sophisticated enough to mislead even seasoned collectors. In this post, we’ll explore how to distinguish genuine Royal Artillery cap badges from reproductions, highlighting key features, materials, maker marks, and common pitfalls.

Royal Artillery headdress insignia interest peaks around the period of the First World War. I part due to the massive mobilisation of the British Army. The volunteers, the territorials, and the historical Royal Garrison Artillery (RGA) and Royal Horse Artillery (RHA) units all being brought on to bear alongside the Royal Field Artillery and Royal Artillery Regiment batteries. RA badges are a desirable and worthwhile collection in their own right. The scarcity of volunteer badges makes them especially sought after.

Analysis

Here are clear front and rear images of a fake Royal Garrison Artillery Third Middlesex Volunteers forage cap badge. It s a good basis to begin as a series of fakes in circulation have the same traits.

Obverse.

Reverse.

The badges is based upon a typical Royal Artillery regiment cap badge design. The die then cut with the unit designation wording. There are two easy identifiers that I will show next that can be used to quickly identified these reproductions.

The first identifier are these oblong lashing points on the gun carriage. This feature, amongst others, repeats itself across the whole range of volunteer and specialist artillery unit badges on the market. I chose this identifier as it is the quickest and easiest, with a very high degree of accuracy, as will be shown later in the thread.

A comparison of the above fake along with two known original Royal Artillery cap badges. The central image is what I believe is the design that this series of fakes where based upon. You can see the differences clearly in this next image.

Second identifier being the overly extended finial atop the crown. When measured side by side with originals, it extends from 50-100% the length of the originals depending on the original badge die type.

Now view the other volunteer artillery unit badges and see the similarities in the die stamping. They are exact apart from the change in unit designation.

Standard Royal Artillery regiment faked. Note this one has a separately applied carriage wheel. This feature is not a reliable indicator of authenticity.

Royal Artillery officer cadet variant. Fake.

Royal Artillery volunteers variant. Fake.

Honourable Artillery Company variant. Fake.

Royal Horse Artillery Warwickshire battery. Fake.

First Royal Garrison Artillery Hants. Fake.

Fifth Royal Field Artillery London Brigade. Fake.

Note the variation in materials used in these badges. From a deep bronze to a bright gilding metal. The bronze I guess incorrectly represents an officer's badge. Same traits appear.

The variation in colour is not the only trick. Mounts is another method employed. Either slider or lugs. Some lugged badges with 2 lugs, others with 3 lugs.

The lugs and sliders used are a key feature in differentiating fakes and originals. More on this subject can be found in my thread on original and reproduction cap badges.

In summary. The above described badges should be avoided. They are far too numerous and similar in nature to be considered original. Despite them being offered at prices consistent with the scarce originals. Construction methods are consistent with many known faked cap badges. Another key feature and reason to avoid them.