User's notes
Appraisal Item Description Three William F. “Bill” Degan U.S. Marshals Service Memorial Badges This group consists of three exceptionally rare U.S. Marshals Service memorial badges produced in connection with the memorialization of Deputy U.S. Marshal William F. “Bill” Degan, who was killed in the line of duty at Ruby Ridge, Idaho, on August 21, 1992. The collection includes three distinct badge designs, each presented in an individual fitted presentation case. All three incorporate traditional U.S. Marshals Service imagery, including the five-point star, eagle, wreath, and shield motifs, but each differs significantly in size, construction, configuration, and lettering. One example features a prominent blue “UNITED STATES MARSHALS SERVICE” banner above the suspended star and a blue “IN MEMORIAM” banner below. These pieces are understood to be prototype or presentation examples associated with the development of the Degan Memorial Badge rather than ordinary production credentials. They were produced by V.H. Blackinton / Starpacker, a longtime manufacturer of law-enforcement badges and insignia. The group includes the particularly significant sterling-silver Degan Memorial Badge identified as No. 2 of 2, making it an extremely limited-production example. The three badges are: 1. A smaller suspended-eagle U.S. Marshals star prototype/presentation badge. 2. A larger suspended-eagle and wreath U.S. Marshals star prototype/presentation badge. 3. A U.S. Marshals Service “In Memoriam” suspended-star memorial badge with blue enamel banners. All three retain their individual fitted presentation cases and appear to be in excellent overall condition. Historical Significance Deputy U.S. Marshal William F. “Bill” Degan was a veteran member of the U.S. Marshals Service, a member of the Special Operations Group, and a former United States Marine. His death during the Ruby Ridge operation became one of the most consequential events involving federal law enforcement in the modern era and led to extensive national scrutiny, congressional attention, and changes in federal tactical policy and procedure. Because of that history, original memorial items associated with Degan have significance beyond ordinary law-enforcement badge collecting. Prototype and limited-production examples are particularly important because they represent the design and memorialization process itself, rather than a standard production badge. Provenance and Cooper Family Connection The current owner is the son of retired U.S. Marshals Service Chief Deputy and longtime Special Operations Group member Larry T. Cooper. Larry Cooper and William F. “Bill” Degan entered the U.S. Marshals Service during the same period in 1977, attended basic training at FLETC in Glynco, Georgia, together, and subsequently went through U.S. Marshals Service Special Operations Group selection in Brownsville, Texas, in 1978. Their careers continued to intersect through SOG, and both were associated with the early development and training history of the unit. Larry Cooper later served in numerous operational and command assignments within the U.S. Marshals Service, including extensive service with SOG. He also participated in the U.S. Marshals Service response to Ruby Ridge in 1992. The Degan Memorial Badges did not belong to Larry Cooper. Their significance within the Cooper collection comes from the direct professional and historical relationship between Cooper and Degan, and from the fact that the badges were preserved within the collection of the family of a fellow Marshal and SOG contemporary who had known and served alongside Degan. That provenance materially distinguishes the group from three unrelated Degan memorial badges appearing anonymously on the collector market. Appraisal Significance For appraisal purposes, these should be evaluated as a matched group of historically significant U.S. Marshals Service memorial badge prototypes/presentation pieces, rather than simply as three law-enforcement badges. Factors contributing to their potential value and historical importance include: * Direct association with Deputy U.S. Marshal William F. “Bill” Degan. * Ruby Ridge historical significance. * Prototype and presentation status. * Extremely limited production. * Presence of the sterling-silver No. 2 of 2 example. * V.H. Blackinton / Starpacker manufacture. * Original fitted presentation cases. * Survival of three different designs together as a group. * Provenance through the family collection of Larry T. Cooper, a longtime USMS SOG member and professional contemporary of Degan. Taken together, the group represents a highly unusual surviving set of U.S. Marshals Service memorial artifacts connected to Degan, the early history of SOG, and one of the most significant events in modern U.S. federal law-enforcement history.
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