Audi - original vintage 1960s keychain badge with replaced keychain

An original vitreous enamel Audi keychain badge which will have been produced in the 1960s which we have provided with a new keychain as can be seen in the photos.

We have just this one keychain to offer – when this keychain has been sold this listing will be cancelled.

Possibly the earliest Audi keyring ( keychain badge ) which we have ever listed .

This vitreous enamel badge is in superb condition but the original keychain was missing – so we have fitted a new keychain & splitring using a new old stock keychain which will possibly be almsot as old as the badge itself .

We know that the badge dates from the early 1960s as we have very occasionally seen similar keychains for other makes of vehicle – mainly Jaguar & BMW – with a badge with these markings on.

Bud Marston in USA has written a very well known book on the subject of Vintage Jaguar Keyrings ( running to some 280 pages ! ) which can be seen in the Jaguar section here in this website shop.

Bud has seen Jaguar keychain badges like this Audi one with the same markings on – but has never discovered who they were made by .

The marking is an elongated ‘B’ within an oval together with a smaller ‘C’ within a small circle.

It has been suggested that the ‘ C ‘ relates to ‘copyright’ but this has never been proven.

‘Made In England’ also marked on the back of the badge – at that time almost all keyrings/ keychains for the world’s cars were made in England – it became quite an industry centred on the badgemakers of the jewellery quarter in Birmingham where this badge will almost certainly have been made.

Audi motor cars were rare on British roads in the 1960s – and hardly any keyring manufacturers bothered to make Audi keyrings which adds to the rarity of this item .

Difficult to establish a value as we have nothing to compare it to – all we can do is to establish a price based on what it costs us in order to put items like this one into stock.

All that can be said is that if this was one of the Jaguar keychains we have mentioned and in this condition then the value would be very significantly more  – and this Audi item is much rarer than it’s Jaguar counterpart !

The keychain in the photos is the actual one which you will receive.