Silesian preservation badge Silesian eagle, 1st class

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Silesian preservation badge Silesian eagle, 1st class.
Need your opinions.
Thanks!

[hobby-forum]

[hobby-forum]

more pics.

[Brian L.]

I've never seen anything like this before. A horrible looking SA1.

I wouldn't have it my collection even if someone gave it to me for free!

[Don D.]

I've never seen this type before either.

[Jean-Claude]

Never seen this hardware set up before but the bird design itself is familiar enough. I have attached pictures of the same identical eagle design (note the idientical die features including feathering and backward slanting "E" in "Schlesien") in solid back form in painted iron but with very different hardware. I also have this bird in 2nd class form (iron) with a few different types of ring attachement methods.

The fact it is hollow stamped in what appears like gold plated brass or tombac instead of solid and made of a different metal is not unusual. Meybauer had all kinds of variations: hollow stamped, striated back, flat back in brass, silvered enamelled tombac zink etc) but I've never seen this "olympic ring" hardware set up before on an SE (or anything else for that matter)

JC

[Brian L.]

While I've never been a slave to textbooks as there's always a possibility of a new variation, Konstantin covered this award in an extremely thorough, exhaustive manner and this gaudy bit of bling is not in his book. I believe it is die-cast rather than die-struck. So, it likely did come from the example shown by Jean-Claude as a casting. But, I think at best it's a modern re-strike. For one thing, I have seen this pin on other fakes of different badges.