My RK & winners picture

[streptile]

I am trying to know why. It is 3 piece .The swastika is high .Not low like the 3 piece I bought as repro. The ribbon ring I added ,as it did not have one.I have Gordon Williams book. I still cannot find the problem points.I joined here to be able to learn.I am going through back threads.Can any one help ?

The simplest answer to your question is this. Many fakes have the same basic characteristics as originals: three piece, silver, iron, fine construction, integral Öse. What makes an RK original, then, is none of these things, but whether it conforms to other known originals in its minute particulars: beading flaws, date design, bead count, marks. Yours (apparently) doesn't. To learn all about originals, and to thus be able to identify them, there is a wonderful book available.

[Leroy]

The VAST majority of original RK's match the characteristics of those set forth in Dietrich's book and that book is indispensable for anyone entering the RK field.

There are, however, original RK's (and Oakleaves and Oakleaves and Swords, etc.) which do NOT match up with the makers found in Dietrich's book. This is not "legend" or "urban myth", but is documented by original wartime photographs of such pieces in wear. Whether these pieces ended up in the hands of the PKZ after the ban on private sales in October, 1941, and entered the "stream" of award pieces is absolutely unknown, as there are no records (at least found so far) which catalogue each and every type awarded, or whether they were private purchases before the "ban" or acquired by the wearers in some other way (gift from a company, "under-the counter" sale, privately made, etc.) is pure supposition at this point. There are also perfectly real pieces which share some, but not all, of the characteristics, of the "known" makers. Were these design experiments or were they pieces made by other companies using design ideas or components from "known" makers? No one really knows. But the truth is that they are out there, they are of wartime manufacture, and they were worn by authorized recipients.

The RK has been faked many, many times. All of the principal fakes (the ones which might really fool people) have been well-documented and exposed and there is no longer any valid reason or excuse for someone to be tricked. If you buy a fake RK, the odds are that you have not taken advantage of the many resources which are available. One thing I have personally noticed: since Dietrich's book, the number of fakes being offered as real has dramatically declined (at least at shows).

We cannot, however, fall into the trap of saying, or thinking, that every piece which does not match those in Dietrich's book is automatically a fake. Although many (and perhaps most) will be fake, some could be real (even if they closely resemble the fakes shown in the book). The key is not to jump to conclusions and not to pass judgment based on a quick look or comparison. This is very much a field where overall scope of experience and knowledge and attention to the smallest details is critical. Above all, there is NO substitute for a "hands-on" examination of a piece.