Pour le Merite - Another Spanish Fake

[regular122]

Here's another fine eBay example of what looks like a Spanish fake Pour le Merite with good pics. All for only $1500.00 US. This one tries real hard with numbers, crescent, etc. Enjoy. Steve

http://cgi.ebay.com/Pour-le-Merite_W...QQcmdZViewItem

[regular122]

Private auction (of course) and sold for $1500. Incredible. I'm posting the eBay public domain pics for fake reference. Steve

[regular122]

reverse

[regular122]

Eagle detail

[regular122]

Bogus markings

[spanner]

hi
i am the owner of the plm you refer to
can you please explain to me why you
think this is a spanish fake.can you give me
any links where this is official and explained.
thank you

[streptile]

Hi Spanner,

Welcome to the forum. You've asked a big and complicated question right out of the gate.

Really the first thing I think anyone would recommend is to buy this book on the PLM:



It's full of detailed photos of original pieces from the very earliest to the very last. You can order it directly from Winidore Press.

As you will plainly be able to see after studying the images in the book, the Spanish Fake you've got doesn't match original pieces in some key areas (eagle design, lettering, proportions, etc.). So this is the simplest explanation to your question: it doesn't match the originals.

The precise reason this piece is called the "Spanish Fake" remains a bit mysterious as far as I know. There are two very good fakes known to exist, both of which were manufactured in some numbers and both of which have some claim to Spanish lineage. The Spanish lineage of yours has been challenged on this forum, with one person here claiming to know the craftsman (read: faker) who made them in Eastern Europe with the past 20 years or so.

Here is the other fake, sometimes called a Cejalvo Fake, also known as the Dead Eye Fake:



Confusingly enough, the Cejalvo or Dead Eye Fake was made (so it is claimed) by the Cejalvo firm in Madrid. Cejalvo admits having made PLM copies.

Here is an interesting post that discusses the differences between the two types a little bit. A relevant excerpt:

In 2002, I tracked down the maker of this particular piece and learned a German was having this and other pieces made in Spain. The "Spanish fake" had previously been offered to and sold by high end dealers who thought the piece was made prior to 1945.

Here is a little chart another member made up of identifying characteristics of the Spanish Fake:



Finally, here is a Spanish Fake for sale for £595. These do have some value as copies. If you paid $1500 as Steve mentioned in this thread, you probably only paid about twice what it's worth for such a nice copy. Considering that an authentic PLM in this condition costs upwards of $20,000, you did ok. So that's the good news.

This should be enough to get you started on your studies.

[spanner]

thank you very much

[marisca lrommel]

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