Thank you, gentlemen, for your replies.
Having read the previous thread mentioned by Dietrich (and posting the link to that thread myself in one of my posts here), I also believe now that these boards were put together postwar for sale, so let me be clear on that point.
Sal, you are right to be a "doubting Thomas". Close-ups of this badge, front and back, would tell us a lot more. While there ARE photographs which APPEAR to show this type cross in wear, they are simply not good enough in quality to be 100% sure. I'm posting one of those here (the property of member Jacques, previously posted, from his fine collection). Quite frankly, I would not expect many such photographs to exist if, in fact, the badge used a wrong eagle and was not put into mass circulation.
I also find it interesting that, according to the "emedals" site, all of the SK's shown are marked "4", S&L's PKZ number. Dietrich has indicated that his research leads him to believe that the PKZ number should NOT be found on early badges. Others believe that the PKZ numbers actually preceded the LDO numbers and that debate still continues today on WAF. In any case, S&L (IF it made this badge wartime) could have "put it into the stream of commerce" at almost any time.
What sways me a great deal in all this is the presence of the unflawed "A" type RK's shown (and also reported by DaveB to be in the sets he acquired) and the multiple reports (from people like Bob Hritz) that "boards"of this type have been found repeatedly as vet souvenirs, supposedly assembled in the immediate postwar period by residents of Ludenschied to raise money (or trade for food). To me, it stretches credibility to believe anything other than that these boards were assembled using leftover wartime stock (some, according to Bob Hritz, even sold like this without pins). Isn't it much more likely that these people were selling what was already in existence?
Perhaps we will be fortunate and get to see the details of the SK (and some of the other badges from this lot) being sold on the "emedals" site.
Having read the previous thread mentioned by Dietrich (and posting the link to that thread myself in one of my posts here), I also believe now that these boards were put together postwar for sale, so let me be clear on that point.
Sal, you are right to be a "doubting Thomas". Close-ups of this badge, front and back, would tell us a lot more. While there ARE photographs which APPEAR to show this type cross in wear, they are simply not good enough in quality to be 100% sure. I'm posting one of those here (the property of member Jacques, previously posted, from his fine collection). Quite frankly, I would not expect many such photographs to exist if, in fact, the badge used a wrong eagle and was not put into mass circulation.
I also find it interesting that, according to the "emedals" site, all of the SK's shown are marked "4", S&L's PKZ number. Dietrich has indicated that his research leads him to believe that the PKZ number should NOT be found on early badges. Others believe that the PKZ numbers actually preceded the LDO numbers and that debate still continues today on WAF. In any case, S&L (IF it made this badge wartime) could have "put it into the stream of commerce" at almost any time.
What sways me a great deal in all this is the presence of the unflawed "A" type RK's shown (and also reported by DaveB to be in the sets he acquired) and the multiple reports (from people like Bob Hritz) that "boards"of this type have been found repeatedly as vet souvenirs, supposedly assembled in the immediate postwar period by residents of Ludenschied to raise money (or trade for food). To me, it stretches credibility to believe anything other than that these boards were assembled using leftover wartime stock (some, according to Bob Hritz, even sold like this without pins). Isn't it much more likely that these people were selling what was already in existence?
Perhaps we will be fortunate and get to see the details of the SK (and some of the other badges from this lot) being sold on the "emedals" site.
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