ORIGINS
The Golden Party Badge of the NSDAP was authorized by a Hitler decree of October 13, 1933 to honor those Party Members who, as of November 9, 1933, had a registered membership number under 100,000 - provided their party membership had been active and uninterrupted since the NSDAP's re-founding on February 17, 1925. In fact, the NSDAP had already exceeded membership number 100,000 by December, 1928 (although only about 55,000 had remained with the Party - the rest dropped out for various reasons, including the inability to pay dues during the depression). On November 9, 1933 the Treasury Department of the NSDAP certified only 22,282 of the first 100,000 NSDAP members eligible for the badge. This included 1,795 women.
The first awards were made November 9, 1933, on the 10th anniversary of the Beer Hall Putsch. Award documents show awards were frequently presented on significant dates in the Nazi calendar - Nov. 9, Jan. 30, April 20, etc., as well as throughout the year.
Since people were anxious to get this prestigious award, the bulk of the numbered Golden Party Badges were presented in 1933 and 1934, with relatively few additional ones after that date. This accounts for the consistency in quality of the badges.
A handful of numbered badges were awarded after the initial qualification date. Because the Gold Party Badge was the symbol of the new elite of Nazi Germany - and carried with it certain privileges - there was a rash of people who had held NSDAP membership numbers under 100,000, but had left the Party before 1930. Often they rejoined, but entering the NSDAP with a higher number that did not entitle them to the Gold Party Badge. These people frequently petitioned to have their old party number reinstated, entitling them to the Gold Party Badge, explaining why they left the Party. They often enlisted the help of senior Nazis to lobby on their behalf for their old or a replacement low number.
SPECIAL AWARDS BY HITLER
Hitler reserved the right to award the badge for special recognition of service to the Party or State, and used it politically to bring people into the NSDAP who had otherwise resisted or refused to join. These awards usually took place on the 30th of January of each year to anyone who had demonstrated outstanding service to the Party or State.
Although it was essentially the same badge, it was referred to as the Goldene Ehrenzeichen der NSDAP, or Golden Honor Award of the NSDAP, instead of the "Golden Party Badge". It appears the first honour award was given out in 1935 and continued until 1944. Klaus Patzwall in his book "Das Goldene Parteiabzeichen" (Verlag Klaus D. Patzwall: 2004) counts about 900 awards of this badge, and provides a list of the recipients.