Buying a EK 1 opinions please

[Doug See]

I LIKE that one! It's got the same paint crackling and high, pyramidal swaz as your other L/13. It's make a nice pair. If you ever want to sell it, I'll give you $100.

[Frank Heukemes]

Dear Seba,

here is my L/13 screwback. Same features. "Pyramid" swaz and smaller second nine on "1939" are legitimate for this maker.

Cheers, Frank H.

[Frank Heukemes]

.

[Sebastian Bianchi]

Doug - they sure will make a nice pair! Look forward to getting it, and we'll take about the price for me sell it back to you then


Frank - Thanks for posting that photo. Hard to make definite conclusions from a few samples but I think we could make the working assumption, based on the info we have, that both characteristics are ok.

Two different dies for the same manufacturer? Subcontract? That we may never really know.

Any other L/13’s out there?

Seba

[Doug See]

I am convinced that many jewelers purchased frames, dies, cores, hinges, etc. from jewler supply houses and assembled and finished the awards. I don't think probable that every jeweler (or awards supplier) manufactured all of the various types of awards. They may have made some, and purchased or subcontracted others. A jeweler who is quite capable of crafting silver may not have the skills or tooling to sand cast iron cross cores. Therefore, they would purchase the cores. I know almost for a fact (by careful comparison of actual pieces) that Godet and Wagner sometimes used the same cores (or at least the same core molds) for their 1870 EK1's. This may explain SOME of the variances in pins, catches, details, etc. we see on similarly marked badges.

[Sebastian Bianchi]

Just to complete this thread, here is the screwback,

[Sebastian Bianchi]

b

[Sebastian Bianchi]

o

[Frank Heukemes]

Dear Seba,

Is the scan just weird or do I see many die imperfections in the beading of your silver frame that my srewback above does not have?

Cheers, Frank H.

[Sebastian Bianchi]

Hello Frank,

Yes, it does have a die flaw, but not as bad as it looks. My other L/13 has the flaw too.

To be honest the cross looks great in every other way and I am not concerned about it, as far as authenticity, but it is interesting to note. What do you think of it?

Seba

[Frank Heukemes]

Dear Seba,

Apart from the die flaw our screwbacks are the same down to the maker´s mark. Both are original in my opinion, I have no doubts. I would presume mine might be earlier (before the die flaw), or the frame of one of ours might be from another maker that supplied it or it was just two dies being used at the same time.

Cheers, Frank H.

[Neil Howes]

HI

I am attempting to post 2 pics of a L/13 Screwback that I was not sure about (one of my first purchases & they all turmn out to be fakes!!). Thought it might be useful for comparison.

Apologies for the quality of the pics.

Neil

Obverse

[Neil Howes]

Reverse

[Frank Heukemes]

Hi Neil,

In comparison with Seba´s and my L/13 screwback, I notice some things:

-in your date 1939, the 3 and the second nine seem to be longer at the bottom than the 1 and first 9. This is not the case with Seba´s and my example. Ours have the second nine "hiding" a little bit behind the 3.

-the patina on your reverse (srewplate and cross) seems a bit odd but that could have a couple of reasons.

-no "veining" as in my or Seba´s cross on the black finish.

I do not know how I should value these differences, the first one being the most severe to me. Your maker´s mark looks ok though. Hard to say, I would not write that cross off.

Cheers, Frank H.

[Sebastian Bianchi]

In addition, and as a positive, the crosshatching is there.

What a nice thread this turned out to be, started out innocently enough though, huh?

Graeme, did you end up getting that cross?

Seba