Opinions please on Ek1/Spange combo

[kpaintner]

I have a friend who is also a collector offering this Ek1/Spange combo. No providence. He purchased from another collector. As you can see it comes in a LDO box. I have reasearched this site and do not recall seeing a box like this, but as you can see it fits nicely in it...could it be an original box? What does LDO stand for? The only marking on the back is a "4". Owner believes it may stand for Steinhauer & Luck, but he is not sure. I have known this guy for a long time and purchased a number of other items from him. He does not admit knowing much about this piece origin. The spange appears to have a backing plate behind it as evidenced by the seam you can see. Let me know your thoughts.

Thanks in advance for any comments.

Kevin
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[streptile]

It's a (probably authentic) EK1 attached to a fake Spange, with a fake backing plate, fake mark and fake pin, in a fake box.

LDO stands for Leistungsgemeinschaft der Deutschen Ordenshersteller, or (roughly) Organization of German Order Manufacturers. It was a government body which monitored quality, supplied selling and manufacturing licenses, and controlled supplies of privately purchased German orders, medals and decorations during the later WWII era.

[kpaintner]

Streptile,
What makes it fake? Not questioning your opinion...just trying to learn and not make costly mistakes.

Thanks,
Kevin

[streptile]

Hi Kevin,

It's a good question, don't worry.

The short answer is: it's fake because it was made after 1945 -- in this case, long after.

The slightly longer answer is: there are a limited number of original designs for Spangen and this is not one of them. In fact it matches a very well-known postwar fake (which, incidentally, is very often soldered on to a good EK1 to make these combos -- it's a cottage industry for someone). This Spange can even be purchased as a repro for re-enactors (or it could be up til a few years ago).

So, since the Spange is a fake, then the pin, backing plate and mark must be also.

If you want advice about how to spot a fake, the very best advice anyone can ever give you is: study the originals. Know what they look like, and you can reject anything that does not match them. Spangen are very easy because there are so few original designs and each design (for the most part) is very different from the next -- unlike, say, EK2s, where there are dozens of makers and they mostly look very similar.

[kpaintner]

Thanks! Lots to learn here....that is why I appreciate this site so much.

Kevin

[Flemming]

Can't comment on the EK, but I have to agree with Streptile regarding the spange.
The spange is a fake indeed.

/Flemming

[tinmantis]

Streptile has said it all
the spange is fake, but the whole combo was put together rather well
regards
jon

[kpaintner]

Thanks again for all the comments......I passed and all your advice again saved me big bucks!!!