Advices to know if is good or a fake

[Capazo]

Hello to all!!!

I'm not a expert in British Parachute Insignia. Recently, in a Holland forum tell me that insignias on my "paratrooper battledress" are fakes or post-war made. Only one Pegasus Badge is War made.

I bought this jacket in 1999 or 2000 when I was 14 years old.

I know that read books and more books are soo good, but there are details which are not mentioned.

The objetive of this post is that:
Many people in this forum are expert in airborne insignias.

- What do you do to know if a insignia or a badge is a fake or original???

Thank you to all collectors

[Jack Dutton-Roberts]

Quite a vague question but I'll give it a go...

There are many ways to determine whether badges are original or not. Some techniques I use...

-study lots of books with wartime pictures
-study lots of books that show original badges
-go to museums, go to fairs, look on the internet, ask other people and build up a database of research/pictures

...more specific...

-does it look old?
-does it smell old?
-what does it feel like?
-what's it made from?
-does it look like the original examples I've seen?
-does it have good solid provenance?
-what's your gut instinct?

But I think the fastest way to learn is to start collecting the stuff - possibly start off with something a little easier e.g. non-Airborne stuff - you will then get a feel for what is original and what is not original. The methods used to fakes badges are very much alike regardless of what they are.

Don't be put off or afraid if you slip up and buy a few fakes by accident - we've all been there and some would say it's the fastest way to learn. Make sure you buy from reputable dealers and always get second opinions.

I saw the blouse you posted on the Tommy-Talk forums. As mentioned on there, the only original thing was the Pegasus patch on the left sleeve?

There's plenty of more advice and tips on specific things like Pegasus patches, titles etc we can give. Just ask and I'm sure plenty of people will step forward.

Jack.

[Capazo]

Ok !!!

For example, to Airborne Beret Insignia:

What do you see??? The "diamonds" of the Crowns????

Thank you again!!!

[lnijherald]

Could you at least enlighten us as to which specific regiment, corps or department you are referring?

Look mate, and please do take this personal: we have covered many airborne insignia in great depth on this forum and Tommy Talk as well.
As Jack says, look on the internet, go over some older threads and you will find a wealth of information on original insignia and a huge amount of pictures.

Cheers, Luc