North Vietnamese Army Brass Sun Helmet Badge Repainted

This is the North Vietnamese Army Sun Helmet Brass Badge that was standardized in 1959. As you can see, it is made from BRASS, not aluminum. Also note that it has baked on red enamel, not candy apple red paint like in post 1975 PAVN badges. These were either cast in brass or stamped from brass. This was the standard issue sun helmet badge throughout the war. Since 1975, I have only a handful of these badges as they were not supposed to be brought South when an NVA solider left for the Front.