| Obverse Design | Top has perched eagle, wings spread, head ducked down and facing right. This eagle has the wings swept down below the feet, unlike the earlier design where the wing tips were about even with the feet. The center of the shield has the first seal of the Canal Zone with a Spanish Galleon sailing through a sea level canal. There is a smooth circle around the seal with lettering. All lettering is incuse. The lettering says "CANAL ZONE" curving above the seal and "POLICE" curving below. On the same circle there is one five pointed star to the right and one to the left of the seal. Below the shield is a smooth diamond with the badge number. The shield overall has a textured background. All edges of the shield except the top have a leaf design as the edge. | ||||
| Reverse Design | Vertical pin back. | ||||
| Metal | Most likely nickel-plated brass. | Size and Shape | About 56mm wide by 76 1/2 mm high (2 1/8 inches by 3 inches). | ||
| Dates Issued | This badge and the matching BG-16.2 hat badge were used from early 1941 or earlier until the term of service of the Canal Zone Police ended on March 31, 1982. | ||||
| Issurer | Panama Canal Company. | ||||
| Numbers Issued | Pieces include #92, #449 and #493. | ||||
| Rarity | Scarce. | Manufacturer | Unknown. | Source | Levy Collection and King Collection. |
| Varieties | None known. | ||||
| Function |
Police vest badge. I would appreciate e-mail from anyone who can add anything to the history of these badges. |
||||
| Notes | A former Canal Zone Police officer was issued this style of badge (#92) in early 1941. The police uniforms were changed in 1941 - perhaps the badges were changed at the same time and this badge was adopted then. Another former Canal Zone Police officer, from the 1968-1970 era, recalls wearing this badge BG-16.1 on his left breast pocket, the hat badge BG-16.2 on his hat and carrying a smaller wallet-size badge as well. | ||||
Another Example of BG-16.1 and the Reverse Side of Badge
Scale: 4 pixels equals one millimeter