Wound Badges

This award was first introduced in 1918 to recognize WW1 soldiers who were wounded. Later in May of 1939, Hitler re-introduced the badge for wounded who served in the Condor Legion during the Spanish Civil War. Shortly after that in September 1939, with a design change, it was introduced again for wounded of the new war. Black for being wounded 1-2 times, Silver for being wounded 3-4 times and Gold for being wounded 5 times. For severe wounds, the higher badges could be awarded right away. As a morale tactic, in 1943 Goebbels came up with the idea to award wound badges to civilians wounded in air raids.

Black wound badges are very common and often collected by maker, as there were many producers. Maker marks can be found on the pins, or sometimes built right into the die to show on the reverse. Silver badges are not terribly rare but can be difficult to find with all the finish remaining due to the majority of them being made of zinc which contributed to finish loss. Gold badges are rare and often reproduced. Collectors should use extreme caution when examining a gold badge on the private market, as many of them are the so called "Floch Fake".

There is also a special wound badge for those injured in the July 1944 assassination attempt on Hitler. These are among the rarest awards in the hobby and also, often reproduced. So the one some guy in the Ukraine is trying to sell you is surely a fake.