The Coburg Badge (Coburger Abzeichen) was recognised as the first national award of the NSDAP, and later as the top NSDAP award in the party. Hitler ordered the Coburg Badge to be struck on October 14, 1932 to commemorate the event that took place ten years earlier. It was to honour the 800-strong army of SA stormtroopers and a band who had travelled with Hitler by train to Coburg for a rally. Over there, they pitched street battles with the police and the communists but eventually gained an upper hand and they celebrated with a victory. This day was known as the Deutscher Tag in Coburg (German Day in Coburg).
The badge was designed by Hitler himself based on a sketch. It measured 40mm wide and 54mm high, cast out of bronze and hand finished. The design features sword facing downwards across the face of a swastika and surrounded by an oval wreath MIT HITLER IN COBURG 1922-1932 (With Hitler in Coburg 1922-1932). On the top of the badge shows the Coburg Castle and its surrounding landscape. Next to the badge is a commemorative plaque for a winner during an event held between 17-19 October 1941 at Coburg. The plaque is extremely well made with a highly detailed brass engraving of the Coburg badge, under the watchful eye of a German eagle, standing in front of an Iron Cross. The wood plate measures 17.5cm x 11.8cm and with the manufacturer’s name, Lauer Nürnberg stamped on the bottom. From author’s collection.
