I'm not a historian, so I can't tell you that the real badges looked like this. But I bought mine for a Halloween costume and it worked out great. It's not huge and shinny like those in the toy store. It's about the size of a old silver dollar. It is heavy and not a cheap piece of tin. The pin was not particularly sharp so a tiny bit of filing to sharpen it up made it easier to pin on my shirt. Still with the rest of my "Western" getup it made for a good cowboy costume. If you are looking for "Sheriff badge" you will be happy with this one.