This Berkshire & Reading Fire Service cap badge is a reproduction of an original rare factory sample badge, one of only 2 or 3 in existence. A factory sample cap badge is one of several varied badge designs or titles, that manufacturers can offer prospective fire brigades for future mass production of a chosen badge for issue ! The badge they choose will be taken from a sample card, the other card being kept at the factory. Unchosen cap badges or error badges are then sold off in job lots to badge dealers. The fire brigade card gets stored, thrown away, discarded & lost. A factory will not produce more than 2 or 3 badges of each variation, metal economy is paramount & wastage is minimal. That is how these very rare factory sample fire brigade unissued ( or issued ) cap badges merge onto the market, & end up in collections !
This reproduction cap badge for Berkshire & Reading Fire Service is manufactured by Mike Trueman Badges of Birmingham, the original buyer of the Berkshire & Reading Fire Service cap badge from collections he obtained,  to replicate for his trades list.  He then sold it on in the late 1970's.