Ground Assault Badge Opinions

[kikidapoet]

Greetings gentleman! I am interested in opinions on the authenticity of this item. All comments are welcomed and appreciated!

Regards,

Keith

[kikidapoet]

another pic

Thank you again for your comments and taking the time to look.

[kikidapoet]

Real or fake?

Does this one look good?

[Nordmark]

I have looked at this piece for quite some time now, but I the longer I look at it, the more I don´t like this piece.

I would not buy it.


Regards,


Daniel

[kikidapoet]

Any other opinions?

Thank you for your input Daniel. Would anyone else care to comment on this one?

regards,

Keith

[Sebastien T]

Im with Daniel one this one, base metal look not good and the eagle is bad. I would pass on it.

Seb

[Tom Yanacek]

Hi guys,

An interesting badge that started this thread and I feel it may be worthy of a bit more discussion. I agree that the base metal looks suspect, but is it possible that it is just the pictures? The badge sort of mimics the ones that we attribute to Hammer & Sohn, but despite the similarities there are too many differences. It is definitely not a Hammer & Sohn (at least not a textbook one). But is it possible that this is an original badge by some other unknown maker? To be objective here, we need to judge this badge on its own merits rather than by how it compares or differs to a badge by Hammer & Sohn. I really see the possibility that this badge is an unknown original. On the other hand, it could be a complete fake that was loosely-based on the Hammer & Sohn design.

I am particularly interested in this thread because I have a badge that looks like the one that was first posted. If this type is a fake then I would almost expect to see them pop up much more often. The reality, though, (at least for me) is that a badge of this exact type is seldom encountered. I think I have only seen three of this exact type in close to forty years of collecting. I will post my example below and show it next to an original Hammer & Sohn so that all of the similarities and differences should be readily apparent.

The badge on the left is the badge in question and it looks like the one that started this thread. The badge appears to be Feinzink and it is die-forged. It is 56.04mm high x 43.09mm wide and the eagle wingspan is 42.09mm. The weight of the badge is 36.3 grams.

The badge on the right is a textbook original attributed to Hammer & Sohn. The badge is die-forged Kriegsmetall. It measures 56.26mm high x 43.60mm wide and the eagle wingspan is 42.00mm. The weight is 36.2 grams.

Although they are pretty similar at first glance, the inner and outer edges of the wreaths are distinctly different as are many of the smaller details. And each badge has a different eagle.

I welcome any and all opinions.

Thank you & best regards,
Tom

[Tom Yanacek]

Reverse:

Many similarities on the reverse such as virtually identical catches/catchplates, similar sheet metal hinges, single rivet attachment of the eagle, etc. But distinctly different inner and outer wreath edges and different shaped cut-out areas above the clouds.

[Tom Yanacek]

The badge in question (top) has a sheet metal hinge with a wider base flange that covers the cut-out area above the eagle. The single rivet has a nicely-domed head.

The Hammer & Sohn (bottom) also has a sheet metal hinge, but with a narrower flange that leaves the cut-out area above the eagle visible. The single rivet is more flattened rather than domed.

[Tom Yanacek]

The catches and catchplates on both the badge in question (top) and the Hammer & Sohn (bottom) look identical.