MARYLAND STATE POLICE ALERT
March 30, 2007


If you are considering the purchase of a Maryland State Police badge, stop for a minute and ask yourself this question. Why would anyone offer a badge for sale for a couple hundred dollars when, IF department issue, it could easily bring $1500 to $2000? The answer is... the badge is a reproduction.

Often times, sellers will tell just about anything, offer any documentation, and say just about anything to sell a badge. If a badge is a reproduction and sold as a reproduction at a reproduction price, then there is no problem with such a sale. To offer a badge as "issue" when it clearly is not is not only a misrepresentation, but if sold through the mail, the sale could be considered a clear cut case of federal mail fraud.

With regards to Maryland State Police badges, there are pictures in the ALERTS section of the site. Know what you are buying, and get the right of a full refund if you are not satisfied with the item on delivery. Be an educated buyer and beware of stories and documentation that may or may not be related to what is being offered for sale.

You will never find the perfect reproduction. The hobby of badge collecting can be one of the most deceptive hobbies in existence today, if you allow it to be. Do your homework and NEVER pay more for a badge than you can sell it for.

MARYLAND STATE POLICE REPRODUCTION
January 31, 2003

Reproductions of the Maryland State Police are starting to show up on the collectors market in considerable numbers. The badge is being sold to unknowing and uneducated collectors as "department issue", and actually in many respects it is very close. If you have a copy of the BADGE GUIDE, pay close attention to the photo of the department badge pictured in the book. Pay close attention to the finish on the badge. The reproduction has more of a dull finish that the department badge. Also, look closely at the feet on the eagle, as they are unlike the department issue badge. Also the flags on the top of the pole in the state seal is incorrect. These are tiny details, but knowing these reproductions are out there and being sold as "department issue" can save you from being taken! If you have any questions about a badge, send me a photo of it, back and front, and I'll give you my opinion. Here is a photo of one of the Maryland State Police reproductions.