SA silver sports badge – please help, original or repro?

[militaria.no]

Hello guys!

I have been contacted by a friend with some questions regarding his SA sports badge in silver, bought in 1990. Now a few collectors have told him this is a repro. I will put my neck out here and say I am pretty sure it is not – I think it is a genuine original. It is marked “W.Redo Saar=Lautern, Eigentum D. Obersten S.A. FühPung“ (guess the correct spelling should have been FühRung).
So now I hope you can help us out with either positive or negative feedback – Is this SA sports badge a reproduction or 100% genuine original, and is the misspelling of fühPung/fühRung a known mistake on this Redo badge?

Thank you in advance

Best regards
Marius

[militaria.no]

Detail front:

[militaria.no]

Detail back (1):

[militaria.no]

Detail back (2):

[militaria.no]

And the last picture I have,
Detail back (3):

[kenneth wolfe]

Hi

I like it. I have no problems with this one!

Kenneth

[sjl]

I would be very concerned about an obvious spelling mistake like this. After all, most of the Germans who made these badges actually spoke German .

[Stu W]

4 concerns

Hello,

I would not want this one for these 4 reasons...

1. Spelling error as you mention.
2. Poor finish of reverse perimeter. Ragged looking.
3. Inconsistent and poorly defined lettering. Compare the "E" s.
4. Look at the "W" in W. Redo. None of the originals I have viewed have this poorly defined stroke on the left side.

German awards, even late ones from lesser materials, were known for their quality of manufacture. I can't imagine any maker letting that spelling error get by. To me this looks like a better than average fake but a fake none the less. Hopefully, for your friend's sake, I am incorrect but that is how I feel about it.

Kind regards,
Stu

[Stu W]

Have a look here...

Further to my last...have a look at this one on Barry Turk's site...

http://www.emedals.ca/catalog.asp?item=GRC439#bigPic

It's what I would expect to see on a reverse.

Kind regards,
Stu

[Roman (Russia)]

I don't like this badge too.

Take a look on "FUHRUNG"! There are no "R", but "P". A-ha-ha

[bikerboyzx6r]

Sorry mate... no known problems like this for maker.
See pic below.
Sorry about pin being in the way.....

[militaria.no]

Hello guys!

Thank you for your time and help, we both appreciate it If you ever see or hear anything related to the misspelling of the P/R on this badge I will be happy to hear from you again

[bikerboyzx6r]

Keep checking back mate. I'm sure another will turn up to look at!

[PatAvitas]

Greetings Stu (fellow Canadian) and fellows,
I have one that is exactly the same as the first one posted, I can't post pics on this forum but it is identical except mine has more wear (which is very consistent with the wear patterns on originals). My W.Redo SA badge in silver came from a collection of known originals that have been in the same hands for many years, with no other fakes found in the entire collection as I have bought a few pieces already from this collection, for whatever that's worth. The one mentioned by Stu is a Type 1, and the lettering is very similar to my example and the one shown (same N, same W and same size and font of lettering). This shows that all "small letter" Redos are not fakes.
Here are my main thoughts about this badge:
1. If this specific badge is a fake, then why don't we see them all over the place, as most fakes are mass produced as far as I understand, especially ones that are die-struck like my example. I assume the badge in the first 3 posts is die-struck as well. This is the only other mention of a "FUHPUNG" spelling error on a Redo badge, it was listed on a mass auction as well with this spelling and it was sold as original. So we have one example in Canada (from a German collector) and one in Norway so far, doesn't seem too mass produced. Two years in between posts as well, one would expect a flurry of these coming out of the closet if indeed they were a well distributed fake.
2. The construction is the same as the one shown on emedals. It is die-struck steel with sharp details and the exact same pin and catch assembly. It even has the same slight uneven border on the reverse from the stamping process. Marius' example doesn't show the wear pattern like mine, but it is consistent with originals.
3. Could it not be possible that Redo DID make a one-time error on a striking and destroyed the faulty die, but not before the first group of strikings was finished?. Who knows if these "defects" were awarded or not, but the fact they could be wartime production cannot be ruled out. Dies wore out after so many strikings, and numerous different dies were used by each company. It is entirely possible that one had a screwed up typeset that wasn't noticed until after it was struck.
4. Fakers, of all people, usually take the effort to make a believeable copy. Why would they take all the effort of creating a die and striking, finishing, pin/catch etc. to make a perfect copy 20-40 years ago when these were worth $10? Even in todays market, this is hardly the badge to fake. It makes less sense that the fakers would misspell it "Fuhpung" than a tired wartime worker in a German shop (in the former French area of the Saar no less).

Of course it could be a repro, but I personally do not believe so at this point based on the points raised above. I hope more info comes out on this subject!

Thanks,
Pat

[juoneen]

So I am assuming...we still dont have a definite answer....Right? BUT....if it is original....it will be called the FUHPUNG Silver sports badge variation, and possibly be worth more if proven ...whenever that may be....? So would you be better off to take it back for the same price you sold it for......then if proven sell it for even more, or then would you elect to keep it?? I have a silver, and if its a redo, ill post it, but silvers to me are less often encountered, and the gold ...even more so. I cant recall even seeing an sa man wearing a gold version in any photos. Most I have ever seen even in photos are bronze examples. I am hoping that sports expert(herr Digga) will also jump in on this albatross to settle this canundrum...