Marksmanship badges are among the most common military badges that collectors come across. Current badges recognize a service member’s qualification with a weapon. Older badges used different level names, clasps and pendant designs. This guide explains how the main US badge types work and what to check when you are deciding whether a badge is current or obsolete.
Two kinds of marksmanship badge
US marksmanship badges generally fall into two groups:
- Qualification badges are earned by completing a set weapons course and reaching a score level. The Army and the Marine Corps are the main services that award qualification badges. The Navy, Air Force and Coast Guard have used ribbons and medals for weapons qualification.
- Competition badges recognize high placement in an official shooting match or a long-term competition record. Many are one-time awards, and they are separate from qualification.
Keeping these two groups apart makes it easier to read a service record or a display case. A qualification badge tells you what a person achieved on a course. A competition badge tells you they placed well in a match.
Army qualification badges
The Army’s qualification badge has three levels, from lowest to highest: Marksman, Sharpshooter and Expert. In short, an Army marksmanship qualification badge shows the level a soldier reached on a weapons course. Weapon clasps hang below the badge to show which weapon the soldier qualified with, such as a rifle, a pistol or a machine gun.
A few points matter for collectors:
- The badge is not permanent. When a soldier re-qualifies at a different level, the badge is replaced to match the newer result.
- Wear rules set limits. Army Pamphlet 670-1, the Army’s guide to uniforms and insignia, sets out how many qualification badges and clasps may be worn. Practice also varies by unit, so check the rules for the period you are studying.
Earlier Army level names and year clasps
Older Army badges used a different naming system. Before 1951, the upper and middle levels were known by other names, such as “first-class gunner” and “second-class gunner.” A badge with those names points to a much earlier period than a badge marked Sharpshooter or Marksman.
Some early Sharpshooter and Expert badges also carried year clasps, which were added to show how many times a soldier had re-qualified at that level. Clasps and their wording are useful clues, but a single clasp does not date a badge on its own.
Marine Corps badges
The Marine Corps awards qualification badges for the service rifle and the service pistol, each at three levels: Marksman, Sharpshooter and Expert. A Marine Corps sharpshooter is a Marine who qualified at the middle level. Marines qualify each year, and the badge they wear reflects their most recent result. The badge stays on the uniform until a different level is achieved.
The Marine Corps has changed its badges several times:
- Marines began wearing Army rifle marksmanship badges in 1912.
- A Marine Corps Basic Badge carried weapon clasps from the late 1930s. It was declared obsolete in 1968.
- The current Marine Corps rifle and pistol qualification badges date from 1958.
If you find a Marine badge with a rifle or pistol brooch and a level name, check the design against a dated reference before assuming it is current.
Navy and other older badges
The Navy had its own marksmanship badge for a short period. The Navy Sharpshooter’s Badge was awarded from 1910 to 1920, and it was designed around a bronze pendant with clasps for expert qualifications and year clasps. Navy marksmanship ribbons replaced it in 1920. The Expert Rifleman Medal and Expert Pistol Shot Medal were introduced in 1969.
Army Team Marksmanship badges, used from 1903 to 1958, were the predecessors of today’s Army competition badges. They are a good example of a badge that looks like a modern award but belongs to a different system.
Competition and distinguished badges
Competition badges are separate from qualification. Some of the best-known examples include:
- Distinguished badges for marksmen. The Distinguished Marksman Badge dates to the late 1880s, and the Distinguished Pistol Shot Badge to 1903. The Distinguished Rifleman Badge followed in 1959.
- Excellence-in-Competition (EIC) badges, awarded for placing in authorized matches. Today’s Army EIC badges have been in use since 1958.
- Army Interservice Competition badges, for soldiers and teams that place in the top three of an interservice match.
These awards are usually recognized through a service’s own uniform rules, and the rules for wearing them differ by branch.
How to tell an older badge from a current one
Use several features together rather than relying on one:
- Brooch and wording. Check the text on the brooch, such as a branch name or a level word. Older brooches often read differently from current ones.
- Clasps. Count the clasps and read them. Army weapon clasps changed many times, and year clasps mark repeated re-qualifications.
- Pendant design. Pendants were redesigned over the years. The Army’s pistol Expert pendant, for example, changed from a revolver design to a 1911-pistol design in 1915.
- Level names. Pre-1951 Army pieces use names such as “first-class gunner.”
- Metal and maker’s marks. Look at the metal and any maker’s mark on the back, and compare them with a reference.
- Provenance. A badge found with an identified uniform or a dated document tells you far more than a loose piece with no history.
Collecting and authenticity notes
Reproductions of older badges are common, so be careful with pieces described only as “vintage” and offered without references. Many badges are also made in later decades to look older.
A rare badge is not automatically a valuable one. Condition, documentation and current demand all affect price. We don’t give price guidance here, because prices change and vary by condition. For a value, check recent sold listings and ask a knowledgeable appraiser who handles military insignia.
Where to check official references
For official Army insignia, the US Army Institute of Heraldry at Fort Belvoir, Virginia, is the primary reference. Army Pamphlet 670-1 covers how badges are worn. For Marine Corps badges, check the current Marine Corps uniform regulations and historical references. Collector guides and museum collections can help with older designs, but always confirm dates against an official source.
For a broader introduction to patches, badges and insignia, see the military patches, badges and insignia guide. For the current process for earning a badge in the Army, see how to get a marksmanship badge in the Army.