Page Of Julia Auction Catalog - 2011/2012
The FBI's Elusive "Raid Badge"
The red/white large badge you see here has been thought by FBI/Hoover collectors I've spoken to over the years to be what was commonly known as a "party badge." It's large and bulky by dimensions and described by many as basically thought to have been concocted to be some type of a spoof and worn at various parties such as the case of Halloween. Some collectors opined that whomever included this badge in a sale of an actual Hoover handgun pulled the wool over the buyer's eyes at least with the supposed authenticity of this "Hoover raid badge."
What I've recently found in FBI files however might prove something else...
The owner, whom we're still attempting to identify, of this badge might be interested in the documents. We've mentioned below a short blurb from my ongoing notes and exam regarding this "raid badge" that might be the only one in existence! We are now certain this badge (exact one shown here) came from the belongings of Director Hoover and was sold by Richard Mohr, son of Asst. Director John Mohr, FBI, who obtained numerous items through the estates of Hoover and Clyde Tolson. We're certain of this since we have located the original owner who described the purchase from Richard Mohr.
There's one other thing I'm certain of too. Files obtained from the FBI clearly reveal that in the 1934/35 time period, Director Hoover and others were in fact seeking a 4" x 3" "raid badge" with colors and specs that nearly match "to a T" the example shown here!
A Copy is here of our ongoing inquiry and exam of files so far.
Update: 2015 will bring additional research into this "raid badge" to determine what the final decisions were with regard to utilization.