Combat Infantryman Badges (CIBs)

Collecting the CIBs ... the "Little Blue Badge"

OK, I know there must be some collectors on here that are 'into' Combat Infantryman Badges (CIBs). I collect both the metal and the cloth badges. Plus, I also collect the various Unauthorized (UA) versions as well as badges that look like CIBs, but are not. And, I even collect buckles, rings, bracelets and other goodies that have a CIB design. So, let's see what you've got!

To kick things off, here are a couple of CIBs I purchased when in Vietnam, 1968-1969. Typical in-country made junk ... the top one is even slightly smaller than the other.

I remember that one of the first things I bought (well, after some ice cold beer) when I went on R&R to Hawaii after ~3 months or so of my tour of duty was to find a PX in Honolulu and buy a quality CIB.

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Here's a recent purchase that has a three dimensional 1795 Musket and, although unmarked, was probably made by N. S. Meyer, circa WWII:

And, here's a money clip with a CIB and a set of jump wings:

This is one of the toughest to obtain: the CIB made by J. Balme in France, circa 1990-1992:



It has several fairly unique features: the 1795 Springfield Musket is three dimensional and the stock has some 'curlicues' on it. Taken in total the design is just plan fantastic.

This CIB is interesting for several reasons:

1. It has oak and laurel leaves similar to Third Reich badges.

2. Instead of a 1795 Springfield Musket it has what appears to be an 1895 Italian Carcano Rifle.

This is an unofficial M-24 version of the CIB:

This a WWII hand carved CIB made of some type of bone, probably water buffalo. It included information that it was used by a soldier in the 158th Regimental Combat Team:



Standard Combat Infantryman Badge size, but about 2.5 X thicker, due to the material used.

That carving is a real beauty!

Thank you, Wolverine ... I see you're in Canada, but do you also collect US CIBs?

Here're two I do NOT have that I am definitely looking for:



The top one is an unauthorized CIB with a sterling silver M-16, while the bottom one is an unauthorized CIB with a sterling silver M-1. Very, very cool!

Here's the side view of the bone CIB in Post #7:

Finally tracked down the unofficial Rhodesian CIB: It's about the size of a US Mess Dress CIB:



Here's a photo with a nice GEMSCO brand, full-size, US CIB for size comparison:



By the way, the GEMSCO CIB is one of the rarer ones, since it has four oak acorns worked into the bottom of the wreath. This was the official original design of the US CIB, but for some reason most manufacturers (except GEMSCO and NS Meyer) made CIBs without the acorns. As GI's used to joke "The CIB's gotta have nuts!"

Cobra 6 Actual wrote:Thank you, Wolverine ... I see you're in Canada, but do you also collect US CIBs?

Not strictly speaking, but a few have followed me home from time to time. I also have quite a few patched BDUs/DCUs with CIB awards in cloth, and at least one group with a second award, if I recall correctly. I will have to try to dig that one out.

Wolverine wrote:

Cobra 6 Actual wrote:Thank you, Wolverine ... I see you're in Canada, but do you also collect US CIBs?

Not strictly speaking, but a few have followed me home from time to time. I also have quite a few patched BDUs/DCUs with CIB awards in cloth, and at least one group with a second award, if I recall correctly. I will have to try to dig that one out.

Great, Wolverine ... Post pics if you get a chance!

CIB on Flecktarn pattern cloth: