Very OLD? (Certainly appears OLDER than the one we sold last week?)

Has "flowers" as an added EXTRA on the wreath....maybe for a higher rank? or perhaps just a "variant"?

ONLY the "OLDER" looking badge (and buttons) seen in image # 1 are for sale here

The cleaner (newer?) badge was already SOLD

U.S.S.Co. officer's hat badge with superb condition enameled badge center, this FRAGILE enameled part is often found damaged

This SUPERBLY PRESERVED enamel cap badge will display nicely in your collection

INCLUDED are TWO OLD U.S.S.Co. officer's large size 1" uniform tunic BUTTONS

One finished in Gilt, the other in White-metal

I understand that the Gilt buttons were worn by the Ships Officers & Boat Crew, and that the White-metal (Silvered) buttons were worn by the Stewards

REFERENCE material "Borrowed" from FABULOUS New Zealand Navy collectors reference by Barry O'Sullivan of Christchurch (available for sale on TM presently) and its a BARGAIN = TWO volumes LOADED with TONS of INFO. & Images

HISTORY of the U.S.S.Co.

The Union Steam Ship Company (USSCo) was formed in Dunedin in 1875 to take over the fleet of the Harbour Steam Company

A fusion of Otago & Scottish capital, the USSCo was ably led by James Mills & dominated the New Zealand coastal & trans-Tasman trades by the end of the 1870s

In 1890 the company took over the Tasmanian Steam Navigation Co. It also operated mail liners to Vancouver & San Francisco, Pacific Island steamers, & a small service to the United Kingdom

By 1914 the tonnage of the USSCo's fleet exceeded that of the five largest Australian shipping lines combined

The company's market dominance earned it the nickname the ‘Southern Octopus’. The USSCo was sold to the British shipping giant P&O in 1917

It came under joint Australian & New Zealand ownership in 1972 but struggled in the 1990s under the control of corporate investor Ron Brierley

In 2000 a tug & barge made the last voyage before the 125-year-old Union Steam Ship Company was liquidated