Freikorps fakes reference thread!

[Sergeant 08]

Hey.... and that little pendant piece is probably from the same source.

Yes, they look very similar.

[Brian L.]

Iron Roland Fakes on eBay

New fakes of the Iron Roland Freikorps badge have started to appear on eBay. They look like they were fashioned from the so-called 57er version of the badge, but with hardware of the style of the original blackened iron badge from 1920.

What gives them away is that they are actually too crisp and detailed compared to originals, the typeface used for the text is completely wrong and the semi-matte black finish is wrong.

Here's a comparison.

[Brian L.]

Beware of this seller on eBay.

bogdangapol

selling the same garbage as "The Club".

Here's an example. Terrible fake of the Deutsch-Ritter Orden.

[Heydrich88]

Freikorp Buckle

Yes i have a buckle that I purchased at a Dallas Militaria show 20 yrs ago that is the same as The Friekorp Buckle you posted. It is of excellent quality, not sure if real or a fake-o. 4/17/2015

[Brian L.]

Yes i have a buckle that I purchased at a Dallas Militaria show 20 yrs ago that is the same as The Friekorp Buckle you posted. It is of excellent quality, not sure if real or a fake-o. 4/17/2015

Fake. Fantasy. They never made these. These buckes have been around at least since the 1970s.

As far as I am aware, there are only two Freikorps buckles that ever existed: Schutztruppe Bug and the Spielschar (youth section) of Sturm-Abteilung Rossbach.

[Heydrich88]

Freikorp Buckle

I had a hunch it was a Fake-O. Not worried i only have about $7 in it. Thanks for the education.

[Brian L.]

Just sold on eBay for 151 EUR. Someone paid a lot for a piece of junk.

Although, the detail on these is convincing and would fool many less knowledgeable collectors, they actually come from a completely different and newly cut die made likely within the past 20 years.

Unfortunately, these have now passed into the realm of a genuine variation of this badge in some collecting circles. I even had an argument with someone on Feldgrau about this. Eventually, I won the argument. There are a few things wrong with it. But, there is one very obvious and illogical detail on this badge that flags it as fake. If you have ever sailed or know anything about sailing you'll see it. Can anyone spot it?

[mchap]

My guess is the rudder was put on using viking "siting fluid"... ie drunk bastards?

[Brian L.]

My guess is the rudder was put on using viking "siting fluid"... ie drunk bastards?

Nope. That's not it. Hint: it's to do with the biggest detail on the badge.

[mchap]

Im a landlubber! ...lets see, I do know that the ribbing on the sail is a sign of fraud. Would it be the sail?

[Brian L.]

Im a landlubber! ...lets see, I do know that the ribbing on the sail is a sign of fraud. Would it be the sail?

The sail is a dead give-away. A ship in full sail with the sail full of wind wouldn't have all those creases, which is called "Luffing" (a flapping sail), essentially what happens to a sail when it loses its wind as you come about and sail across the wind. Ehrhardt as an old sea-dog would have laughed his ass off if he had ever seen this viking ship.

Here's a pic of a re-created viking ship in full sail that shows what the sail should look like.
Here's the badge again beside a genuine badge (see? no creases). The differences are obvious.

The lettering is wrong. The boards on the side of the ship are wrong. The waves are wrong. The dragon figurehead is wrong. The oakleaves and acorns are wrong.

It's not like there isn't enough reference material around. A look in Haarcke would show this badge immediately as a fake.

Some people are just stupid and/or like to throw their money away.

[mchap]

Thanks Brian, nice write up!
I think Ehrhardt would have a laugh at the sail details, isnt there a few posts in this thread where you break down originals from fakes? I havent checked in awhile.

A fool and his money are soon partying (with fake badges).

[Brian L.]

Thanks Brian, nice write up!
I think Ehrhardt would have a laugh at the sail details, isnt there a few posts in this thread where you break down originals from fakes? I havent checked in awhile.

A fool and his money are soon partying (with fake badges).

Yes. I have written about this before. But, it needs to be repeated.

[Brian L.]

porre81. This eBay seller has many well-known, but high quality fakes of Freikorps awards and badges.

[Brian L.]

porre81 has changed his name to adlernest01, I suspect because he's received complaints about his merchandise and is trying to avoid buyers returning fake items he's sold.