The American Red Cross Nurse Pin - Who Owns It?

Original Red Cross Badge Design

Red Cross (Badges) Pins began to be numbered in 1909, the same year Jane A. Delano, the Superintendent of the Army Nurse Corps, was appointed volunteer chairman of the committee on Red Cross Nursing Service. Red Cross related items have always been popular collectibles and the number of Red Cross collectors and demand for related items has increased in recent years. Some of the most popular items to collect are Posters, Service Pins, Magazines and Red Cross Pins as Jewelry.

Number Identifies Nurse Pin was Issued To 

A little known fact by the public, most nurses and some collectors is that the Red Cross Nurse Pin remains the property of the Red Cross. Since each nurse enrolled as a Red Cross nurse receives a numbered badge and enrollment card, and the regulations for wearing the badge or the American Red Cross Nursing Service.  The badge and card always remain the property of the American Red Cross, protected by an Act of Congress.  The badge must not be worn by any other person than the person to whom it is issued.  There are clear regulations for the disposition of badges at the end of the nurse's enrollment.  The nurse, relative, or administrator of the estate, should return the badge to National Headquarters, or the nurse may choose to be buried with the badge.


Check out this site - Volunteer Historian for the American Red Cross
(Shirley Powers)