Patchman999
FBI Efrem Zimbalist Jr. Plaque
Click on the pic for a larger view - you can then read everything on here.
This is a picture of the "retirement plaque" presented to actor Efrem Zimbalist Jr. in 1985 by the Society of Former Special Agents of the FBI in Los Angeles.
Efrem Zimbalist Jr. was the star of a very popular television show called, The F.B.I. That show first aired in September 1965 (which is also the date these credentials were made) and the last episode was in April 1974.
This plaque was presented 20 years after the show first aired and hence is the closest thing they could get to a retirement plaque for the actor.
I have heard that this television show actually inspired some people to join the FBI.
Efrem Zimbalist, Jr. had to be personally approved by Director Hoover to play the part of Inspector Lewis Erskine on the show.
The identification is technically a set of commission cards, but they are referred to as credentials and employees just call them, creds.
This plaque is the same type that retiring agents would have received during that time.
The credentials that are here have a black and white photo of the actor - they now use color photos. The large blue letters, FBI, on the credentials appear a bit lighter than they were back when the TV show was on the air.
Consistent with what the FBI does for retiring employees, the credentials were punched out with small holes, both on the top part and on the bottom part, and these holes spell out the word, RETIRED.
No badge is mounted on the plaque. Instead, the FBI seal is mounted. This is because agents did not receive their badge with their credentials when they retired until Director William Sessions changed the policy on June 30, 1989.
The 2 small round items on the plaque below the wreath and seal represent 10 and 20 year service award keys. In real life, these awards are 10 karat gold items, presented to employees for loyal and faithful service at 10 and 20 years. I don't know why these small gold award items are called keys, but they sort of resemble a small fob that could be used to wind a watch back in the day, with the small part that protrudes from the bottom of the items.
Per FBI policy, on the back of the gold keys, all that is there for the name of the employee is the first initial and full last name, even if the full name is so short that it would all fit on the back.
Note that non-agent employees also received this kind of plaque, and also received (and still do) the same award keys.
Award keys are sometimes made into rings for men, and ladies sometimes wear theirs as a pendant.
On retirement plaques, they use some kind of plastic or resin for the years of service awards instead of the gold ones because the employee already has the real gold items.
These credentials are held in place with 4 small round gold color pins. They later started to attach the credentials to the plaque using glue.
There are 2 words on these credentials that were changed in 1972, but otherwise the credentials read just as they do today.
The 2 words that were removed from FBI credentials were the words, "upon him" which appear near the end of the long phrase - the words are just above the punched out word, RETIRED, on the bottom half of the credentials.
These words had to be removed because of the hiring of female agents, which began after Director Hoover passed away in May 1972.
Nowadays, an agent's retirement plaque has the badge mounted on it along with the credentials. They first remove the pin from the back of the badge, and use very thick heavy duty tape to attach the badge. Over time, the tape dries out and the badge may fall off the plaque.
Additionally, they changed the wreath surrounding the seal or badge that is mounted, and on the wreath appear the words, Fidelity Bravery Integrity.
I understand that these credentials were locked in a safe at the Los Angeles office until Mr. Zimbalist actually needed to display them while filming a show. An agent would attend all the filming. The pictured credentials were made by the FBI and were exactly what agents were issued back then.
Note that Director Hoover signed credentials back in that day. After he passed away, the new directors didn't do that. Instead, the credentials have printed on them, Office of the Director and the only person who signs them is the employee to whom they belong.
If you click on my Flickr album, FBI, you can see a better picture of the 20 year service award key that was made into a ring. Look to the right of this text to see the link to that album.
FBI Efrem Zimbalist Jr. Plaque
Click on the pic for a larger view - you can then read everything on here.
This is a picture of the "retirement plaque" presented to actor Efrem Zimbalist Jr. in 1985 by the Society of Former Special Agents of the FBI in Los Angeles.
Efrem Zimbalist Jr. was the star of a very popular television show called, The F.B.I. That show first aired in September 1965 (which is also the date these credentials were made) and the last episode was in April 1974.
This plaque was presented 20 years after the show first aired and hence is the closest thing they could get to a retirement plaque for the actor.
I have heard that this television show actually inspired some people to join the FBI.
Efrem Zimbalist, Jr. had to be personally approved by Director Hoover to play the part of Inspector Lewis Erskine on the show.
The identification is technically a set of commission cards, but they are referred to as credentials and employees just call them, creds.
This plaque is the same type that retiring agents would have received during that time.
The credentials that are here have a black and white photo of the actor - they now use color photos. The large blue letters, FBI, on the credentials appear a bit lighter than they were back when the TV show was on the air.
Consistent with what the FBI does for retiring employees, the credentials were punched out with small holes, both on the top part and on the bottom part, and these holes spell out the word, RETIRED.
No badge is mounted on the plaque. Instead, the FBI seal is mounted. This is because agents did not receive their badge with their credentials when they retired until Director William Sessions changed the policy on June 30, 1989.
The 2 small round items on the plaque below the wreath and seal represent 10 and 20 year service award keys. In real life, these awards are 10 karat gold items, presented to employees for loyal and faithful service at 10 and 20 years. I don't know why these small gold award items are called keys, but they sort of resemble a small fob that could be used to wind a watch back in the day, with the small part that protrudes from the bottom of the items.
Per FBI policy, on the back of the gold keys, all that is there for the name of the employee is the first initial and full last name, even if the full name is so short that it would all fit on the back.
Note that non-agent employees also received this kind of plaque, and also received (and still do) the same award keys.
Award keys are sometimes made into rings for men, and ladies sometimes wear theirs as a pendant.
On retirement plaques, they use some kind of plastic or resin for the years of service awards instead of the gold ones because the employee already has the real gold items.
These credentials are held in place with 4 small round gold color pins. They later started to attach the credentials to the plaque using glue.
There are 2 words on these credentials that were changed in 1972, but otherwise the credentials read just as they do today.
The 2 words that were removed from FBI credentials were the words, "upon him" which appear near the end of the long phrase - the words are just above the punched out word, RETIRED, on the bottom half of the credentials.
These words had to be removed because of the hiring of female agents, which began after Director Hoover passed away in May 1972.
Nowadays, an agent's retirement plaque has the badge mounted on it along with the credentials. They first remove the pin from the back of the badge, and use very thick heavy duty tape to attach the badge. Over time, the tape dries out and the badge may fall off the plaque.
Additionally, they changed the wreath surrounding the seal or badge that is mounted, and on the wreath appear the words, Fidelity Bravery Integrity.
I understand that these credentials were locked in a safe at the Los Angeles office until Mr. Zimbalist actually needed to display them while filming a show. An agent would attend all the filming. The pictured credentials were made by the FBI and were exactly what agents were issued back then.
Note that Director Hoover signed credentials back in that day. After he passed away, the new directors didn't do that. Instead, the credentials have printed on them, Office of the Director and the only person who signs them is the employee to whom they belong.
If you click on my Flickr album, FBI, you can see a better picture of the 20 year service award key that was made into a ring. Look to the right of this text to see the link to that album.