Narvik opinions please

[MH184]

I posted this months with no replies and I'm still none the wiser even with researching the numerous threads.

Please could you help me with this shield.

Kind regards,

Marcus

[MH184]

1

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2

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[Peter Wiking]

Ok.
I´ll try to help you. I think they are good reproductions. Having both a silver and the rare gold in mint condition makes me a bit pale.

I´ll post here my silver shield that i think is 100 % original. I base that on the fine sharp details, and how well the silver finish builds up in layers with silver on top then copper. Note the 40 on my one and how your one has a slightly larger 0 in 40.

Cheers.
Peter Wiking
Here we go:

[MH184]

Thank you Peter, I to have a silver which I've had for 19 years now.....it was a Birthaday present so I don't mind about this one, I'll keep this one but I assume this is fake.

I want to start the New Year with no qustionable awards at all. These are great lookng shields but I just can't get my head around them. I think I'm going to just leave collecting the shields alone, I've had enough of them and fakes.

Kind regards,

Marcus

[Peter Wiking]

Shields are difficult. Just look at all the Cholm and Demjansk shields.

Happy New Year
Peter Wiking

[Wunhur]

Hi Marcus,

Too gooood to be be true. or maybe I'm just suspicious.

W

[Tim B.]

Hi Marcus!

I know this can be confusing and disheartening at times, especially when you have something in hand and want to hear good news, but your gut tells you differently.

On the first shield you show, I am a bit confused if the shield is gold or silver as the close-ups look more silver than the first full length shot. I personally don't like it though regardless of finish. The details just don't appeal to me and as Peter said, I too believe it to be a better made fake. If you look at some of the old threads on Narviks, you can see details that I have come to believe separate reality from fiction, thanks to many other collectors here.

I remember sending back my first Narvik shield and it was pristine in details--a real sharp looking shield, but after comparing it to others and thinking through some details, my gut said get rid of it and though initially sad about it, I was happy with the decision in the end.

Your second shield is a bit more difficult for me as I do not currently own any zinc shields. Overall, the shield does have traits that I like to see in Narviks and I feel this could be a good one. I seem to recall Gordon posting a PIC from an era catalog that showed a Narvik that did not have the tapered, pointed "9". His reasoning was that if this was in a period catalog (reference), then we could not arbitrarily discount a shield solely based on this single detail.

With that said and the fact that you did not pay for this particular piece, I would suggest (IMHO) you keep it, as original, until positively proven otherwise.

Don't give up; Hey these are not easy to find anymore, but after returning my "fake", I still managed to find two more that were even better!!
Tim

[Frank Heukemes]

Dear Marcus,

Just a short note as I am in a hurry:

I am with Tim. Your first shield is a known fake, the second zinc one could be ok.

Cheers, Frank