Badge 795184 225649515 2008-07-14T18:57:27Z Lawsie 2886923 /* See also */ {{Mergefrom|campaign button|date=July 2007}} {{otheruses}} [[Image:Badge 1012.jpg|thumb|NY NJ [[Port Authority Police Department]] Badge.]] A '''badge''' is a [[personal device|device]], patch, or accoutrement which is presented or displayed to indicate some feat of service, a special accomplishment, a symbol of authority granted by taking an oath (e.g., police and fire), a sign of legitimate employment or student status, or as a simple means of identification. They are also used in advertising and publicity. Badges have become highly collectible: in the [[United Kingdom|UK]], for example, the Badge Collectors' Circle has been in existence since 1980.[http://www.badgecollectorscircle.co.uk/] In the [[military]], badges are often used to denote qualifications received through military training. Similarly, [[scouting]] organizations use them to show group membership and rank. Members of [[fraternities]] and [[sororities]] often refer to the pins that signify their membership as badges. [[Image:RHSBadge.jpg|thumb|left|The three types of badges used by many police, sheriff's departments, state/highway patrols, and security officers. Multi-pointed stars are used by almost every sheriff's department while the two shields are used by police and security officers. The stock security badge has a black band in remembrance of officers killed in the line of duty.]] One of the best-known badges is the typically star-shaped [[United States|U.S.]] [[sheriff]]'s badge, made famous in [[Western (genre)|Westerns]]. The [[BBC]] children's programme [[Blue Peter]] also awards its own "[[Blue Peter badge]]" to members of the public who appear on the show. These are highly collectible as they cannot be bought - except from people who have been awarded one and wish to sell it. Case badges are also thick (about 3 mm deep), 3 cm x 3 cm [[lucite]] stickers that are often packaged with various computer parts, such as processors and video cards. Modern computer cases are frequently embellished with an indentation on the case's front panel to facilitate the affixing of a case badge. In work places employees are often issued name badges which identify them. Name badges are also commonly issued in high schools and hospitals. They are often used to tell legitimate workers from [[impersonator]]s. Badges can be made from a wide range of materials such as metal, plastic, rubber, leather and textiles. Textile badges, for example, can be either woven or embroidered. == See also == * [[Badge of shame]] * [[Campaign button]] * [[Debadging]] * [[Heraldic badge]] * [[Insignia]] * [[Military badges of the United States]] * [[Name tag]] * [[Nursing pin]] * [[Personal device]] * [[Police memorabilia collecting]] [http://bestbadges.co.uk Badge Manufacture] == References == *Setchfield, Frank (1986). ''Official Badge Collector's Guide: From the 1890s to the 1980s''. London: Longman. ISBN 0-582-89306-2 [[Category:Symbols]] [[Category:Award items]] [[de:Plakette]] [[fr:Badge]] [[it:Badge]] [[ja:バッジ]] [[no:Merke (utmerkelse)]] [[pl:Odznaka i oznaka]] [[pt:Distintivo]] [[ru:Нагрудный знак]] [[fi:Rintamerkki]]