Detecting the Fakes (Great Starter Book)

[Beattie-B]

When i first started collecting six years ago I was so naive to the world of collecting, thinking that every piece out there was a genuine period piece. Thankfully my first purchase was with an older local gentleman who took me under his wing and taught me a lot about the hobby and the art of collecting.
I bought my first few pieces off of him (ost medal, 25 years service medal, and H.J. pin) and i fell in love with collecting. But the most important piece of advice he gave me was to find a copy of Detecting the Fakes by Robin Lumsden.

http://www.amazon.com/Detecting-Fake.../dp/071102670X

It has since saved me from many expensive pitfalls and has really paid for itself in that regard. If your lucky you can sometimes pick up a copy off of Ebay like i did at a fraction of the amazon price, but i cannot stress enough at how invaluable the information inside the book is. If your just starting out i highly recommend picking up a copy if you can. Lastly has anyone else had any stories about this book as i'm sure many members have a copy and has saved them?

[feldpost 58]

Hi,

"Detecting The Fakes" was a good book back in it's day, but modern fakery has long outstipped the value of this book.
I believe that fakes outnumber the original items at times, and Robert Lumsden's observations (whilst being mostly correct for the time the book was written) are now greatly outdated.
Everyone who indulges in this hobby (I sometimes wonder - WHY? myself) needs to take real care on every purchase!

Best wishes,

John.

[Beattie-B]

What would you recommend then in terms of literature and do you think this hobby will die because of all the fakes?

[Dietrich Maerz]

There is no general book covering fakes because it is an nearly impossible task. Furthermore that basic approach is wrong IMHO. One should not spend time and money to study the fakes but rather the originals. There are quite a lot of good books out there by now and for obvious reasons I will point you to this website:here

And no, the hobby will not die because of the fakes. The fakes are getting better but are still a far cry from the originals. A little bit of study and it is not hard to detect a fake. Always remember: the fakers are not trying to fool the knowledgeable collector. They are after the novice who rather buys a fake than study a book first.

Dietrich

[feldpost 58]

Hi,
Dietrich is right,
The hobby of militaria collecting will not die because of the lack historical interest in the subject.
I was born in December 1958, both my parents had experienced being bombed in WW2, and ALL my grandparents had either served in the military, or being female; in munitions factories during WW!.
One of my grandfathers lost two brothers during WW1, awarded the MM on the first day of the Battle of the Somme he was a "war hero"to British folk.
I remember him talking to me about his war-time experiences when I was a 7 =8 year old.
Every Sunday morning I saw my grandfather - MM holder. "what a hero, should have got the VC" = according to his comrades but we will never know.
I am so glad that I never was conscripted to the trenches during WW1, and have never experienced any form of conflict.

Best wishes


John.

[Willi Z.]

Dietrich is absolutely correct! There are a numbers of superb badge books available to the collector now. I started with the "Detecting the Fakes" series back in the mid-'80s. They served a purpose then.

[james m]

I think the same can be said in regard to Fred Stephens Reproduction Recognition(dagger fakery) or Don Boyle's TK Ring book. Both were excellent resources in their time but the fakery in those fields has far outstripped what is noted in these books.
Jim