The H. C. Liepsner & Co. Hallmark - 2/13/2008

     I recently ran across a chauffeur’s badge from Florence, South Carolina that was hallmarked H. C. Liepsner & Co. By Googling that name I learned that the company was established in 1880 in Kansas City, Missouri, and is still in existence. They have manufactured many items in their history, including beautiful badges for police, firemen, and even chauffeurs. They supplied all types of badges to more than 2,000 cities, towns, and villages across America. The folks at Liepsner were really nice and talked to me at length regarding their badges. Unfortunately, there are no archives at the company that could furnish information on when a given badge was made, what styles were created, or in what quantities any badges were manufactured. However, the company’s president did put me in contact with the past owner, Mr. Paul Schroeger, and he was willing to share what he remembers from his time with the company. For that I offer my heartfelt thanks. 

     The Florence, S.C. badge is a 6-pointed star with a ball at the tip of each point, and is plated with a bright nickel or chrome finish. There is a mark like a fleur-de-lis at the top and bottom of the badge. Mr. Schroeger called marks like this “ding bats.” In between these ding bats, the badge reads: TAXI DRIVER / 56 / FLORENCE, S.C. There is no date on the badge. The hallmark on the reverse reads: H.C.Liepsner &Co. / KC MO. The printing is in two straight lines. This fact keyed Mr. Schroeger to remember that that style of hallmark was not used prior to 1923 and ceased to be used in the 1950s. The pin is very heavy with a c-catch. A photo of the Florence badge is displayed on the South Carolina page of this website. If anyone has additional information on this or any other badge shown on the site, please don’t hesitate to contact us through the site. Thank you for visiting, and we hope you enjoy the site enough to tell others about us. 

- Larry T. McCord