I role playing was kind of a right of passage for youngsters in the '50s and '60s and the favorite roles back then were Cowboy and Indian, American Civil War, Army Man, and Space Man. Because there were soooo many Western's on TV, numerous outfits could be bought for Junior and a lot were licensed to match their favorite TV personality so a little tyke could go as The Lone Ranger, Tonto, Roy Rogers, Zorro, Tom Corbett and others. Personally I remember having Cowboy costumes, Union soldier, and Army Man get-ups. The photo below shows what '50s role playing was like for me. And ya know? Role playing never really went out of style. I can remember a couple of decades back when kids were dressing up like Power Rangers to satiate that fad. Today the favorites are Super Heroes and Star Wars. Of course I'm talking from a boys perspective but the girls have their day in costume as well with the huge presence of Disney Princesses almost flooding the aisles wherever girls toys and clothes are sold.
As I was going through the box of miscellaneous Western toys I came across several badges, two of which were vintage Roy Rogers and one a modern day souvenir from Bonnie Springs Old Nevada. Badges were a pretty popular accoutrement to role playing and were used not only for Cowboy and Western but also for playing a more modern day Policeman or Detective. As a kid I remember having badges from both Old West Sheriff's and modern Detective sets. I can't say whether the badges shown here today were exactly like the ones I had as a kid but they make nice little addition to the rest of the Western toys in the collection. I have no clue as to who made any of these badges so. Enjoy! Opa Fritz and Oma Bettina
From 1959 is a 6 year old me playing Cowboy
The Roy Rogers badges are made of a heavy brass with an integral pin on the back, and measure approx 2 1/4" (5.71cm) across.
The Old Nevada souvenir badge is a much cheaper tin and would have had a fold over tab to 'pin' it to your shirt (the tab is broken off). It measures 1 7/8" (4.63cm) across
Ahhhh...nostalgia....sheriff's badges...how many of those did we lose in the bracken and brambles!
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I was real big into the Cowboy and Western thing as a kid and had a ton of pistols, rifles, derringers, etc. Funny how watching all those so-called 'violent' TV shows and playing 'shoot-em-up' never once made me want to shoot up the neighborhood. Yet with all of the modern era's Tele Tubby, Barney, My Little Pony infested smarmy TV programming kids are more violent than ever!
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