Captain Midnight Decoder Badges

Today's "Anything Goes Saturday" is kind of different!

Years ago, I lived near a number of antiques stores, and would mosey on over to see if anything good was there. On one excursion, a Little Orphan Annie decoder badge caught my eye, and I bought it for a surprisingly low price. After that, I looked for other old radio premiums; I am pretty sure that I found all of these at various shops, and didn't buy any of them on eBay (or other auction sites) which is why they are sometimes not quite as "minty" as I would probably want these days. Still, I love the idea of some kid saving up his cereal box tops (or similar coupons), sending in 5 cents, and happily receiving his or her very own secret decoder badge. I don't have them all, but love the ones I do have. I'll be sharing photos of 6 different decoders from the "Captain Midnight" show.

This first one is a 1942-1944 "Photomatic Code-O-Graph". In 1940, Ovaltine took over sponsorship of the Captain Midnight radio program, and the Captain became the head of a secret government paramilitary group called the Secret Squadron. With the advent of WWII, he fought Nazis, especially spies and saboteurs intent on destroying the old U.S. of A. Kids were encouraged to replace the Captain's photo with their own, instantly becoming a member of this exclusive squadron! Because this one was available for years, it is not hard to find.

1945 saw the introduction of the "Magni-Matic Code-O-Graph". With brass being such a critical wartime resource, Ovaltine instead used stamped sheet steel that was then painted gold. There is a plastic insert with one half of the cipher, and the clear knob also acted as a magnifying lens, mostly used for frying ants. I have read that this was the only Captain Midnight decoder in which demand exceeded supply.

I found this one (and the next one) in a junk shop for a pittance (along with some 1939 World's Fair pins) - that was a good day!

Next is this "Mirro-Flash Code-O-Graph" from 1946. This is the last Captain Midnight decoder released as a badge. With the end of the war, they used stamped brass again. The knob now has a metal insert that could be used for heliography - flashing a reflected signal to passing airplanes. Why just the other day, I got a passing Boeing 787 to land because I had skinned my knee. Thanks, fellows!

This next example is from 1947 - the "Whistle Code-O-Graph". It's a beautiful blue plastic whistle that I  am sure to have with me at all times, often testing it loudly at Starbucks or Target to make sure that it  still works.

And yes, it is still a decoder. We'd whipped the Nazis, but now the commies were becoming a real pain in the neck. To this day I'll see some guy with a bad haircut and ugly brown leather shoes buying a loaf of bread - he must be a commie!! It's the only rational explanation. I always alert the authorities. But I'm no hero - just a regular Joe doing his bit.

How do you like this 1948 "Mirro-Magic Code-O-Graph"? It is made of brass, aluminum, plastic, and steel. The cipher numbers and letter can be seen through those tiny windows. Mere friction is used to keep the two separate parts of the cipher properly aligned, and slippage turned out to be a vexing problem, resulting in many communist plots succeeding.

Here's the back (made of plastic), with yet another handy mirror. Once again you can flash out an S.O.S., or just make sure that your hair already has plenty of Wildroot Cream Oil in order to keep it neat and tidy.

Finally we have this unusual 1949 "Key-O-Matic Code-O-Graph", which was improved from the 1948 version by actually using gears for the cipher elements. The tiny key is required to reset the thing, and not surprisingly, it was often lost. Clever bending of a paper clip would suffice, but these days the keys can sometimes fetch higher prices than the decoder itself.

I hope that you have enjoyed today's "Anything Goes" Captain Midnight decoder badges!