WW1 Prussian Navy Pilot Badge

[tgn]

I would like some opinions on this Prussian Navy Pilot Badge? It is Meybauer marked, but does not have the typical Meybauer pin assembly.

Tom

[tgn]

Maker mark:

[jaba-the-hunt]

Nice Shaper copy with Meybauer mark. This is a modern fake, sorry.

Regards alex

[Ferg 1]

These Schaper copies abound , a quick guide to telling the good from the bad is to check the catch height on reverse, it is nearly always too far down on these copies. Of course there are many other detail differences to the fake badges. They regularly sell for good money and fool many collectors.Here's an original one.

[tgn]

Don't be sorry to tell me this. You guys just saved me a bunch of $$$ Thanks!!!

Could it be said that if there are no cut outs in the top of the crown, the badge is probably not original? Also, did Meybauer ever use this type of pin? These were the things that bothered me right away when I was thinking about buying it.

Tom

[AFF96]

I believe there are several of these copies on Ebay.
Greg

[Ferg 1]

Hi Tom, unfortunately you cannot judge the authenticity of a marine badge like this by whether the crown arches are pierced or not as some makers did not always do this, although Meybauer did most of the time with their marine badges and Schaper did always,at least I do not recall seeing a Schaper example without. But as I said, several makers did not so don't use that as a judgment of a piece. As to the pin shape, Meybauer used a distinctive shape of pin often refered to as a ' coke bottle ' shape. They are in large the same from one badge to another but they vary in width,some more slender than others, the reason being is they were shear-cut then hand finished with a paring tool. If you look closely you will see distinctive 'sort of flats' running down the pin shaft ,some more than others. But they should all have the same shape/profile to them .Having said that ,I have seen original Meybauer bsdges that have straight pins but these are not common and quite likely replacments. There are other typical Meybauer traits to look at but I won't swamp you with any more !!
Ferg1

[Bernie Brule]

I wasn't aware the Prussian navy had pilots. Must be an extremely rare badge.

[jaba-the-hunt]

Not prusian navy badge. Imperial navy.

The imperial navy aviation had 4 badges.

- See pilot badge
- Land pilot badge
- Observer badge
- Retired badge

The observer badge are the most awarded followed by the see pilot badge and on the third place the land pilot badge.

Regards Alex

[VtwinVince]

Everyone's pretty much covered this one. It is actually the Observer Badge shown, not pilot. The market is very flooded with fakes of these badges, so extreme caution should be exercised with these.

[Gary Symonds]

How could this be a Shaper copy with Meybauer marks? There are no piercings or voids in the crown. If it is agreed that Shaper "always" used a voided crown and I agree with that, how is this a Shaper copy?

[morel5000]

Who or what is "Shaper"?

Best regards,
Michel

[jaba-the-hunt]

Hugo Shaper was a maker of imperial navy aviation badges and other awards from WW1 period.

How could this be a Shaper copy with Meybauer marks? There are no piercings or voids in the crown. If it is agreed that Shaper "always" used a voided crown and I agree with that, how is this a Shaper copy?

Thats easy. Someone thought to stamp this badge with a maker mark would make the badge more valuable. This copies come also with SCHAPER mark on the pin or without any marks and with cut out crown.

Regards Alex

[STLMatt]

Here's an original H. Shaper badge. To compare to

[STLMatt]

And the back