Hi, (I apologize for the large photos, but the details are very important)
I am no longer collecting anything nowadays, but the Spange in question has always had me interested. It is an EKI Spange, made of tombak, with typical hardware setup very common in the Lüdenscheid-area of makers. It is interestingly design-wise somewhat related to the Spange that Mr. Floch must have used to make his notorious fake - a fake that the Spange in question upon closer inspection shares no similarity in manufacture with. In fact the more one compares the notorious Floch to this Spange, the more different they become in all respects. I know that this Spange has on this very forum in the past been deemed to be a "Floch with a reworked head" (right...) - and someone even commented elsewhere that it could be an "earlier" Floch (as if the usage of production material (here tombak) of a post-war faker would mimic the progression of materials as seen during wartime... (from tombak to zinc etc as proper materials became scarcer). There is no such thing as an "early" Floch - and no Flochs have surfaced with wartime hardware either (some collectors seem to scream FLOCH whenever they don't understand something, without backing their opinions up with evidence - but I am sure I need not point this out to the esteemed readers of this forum.
To the point: In order to give the readers a visual experience of why I believe that this Spange must be an original piece I am going to compare this unknown Spange to a well established original badge, a "Minesweeper" by Deumer which is made from the same material, with pretty much identical hardware setup and undoubtedly manufactured by the same process (which I will to the best of my abilities demonstrate).
First as a reminder is the obverse and reverse of the classic (and only) Floch (there are some small hardware variations, but none are even remotely close to wartime setups):
The obverse and reverse of the Spange in question:
On closer inspection it should be pretty evident that these two Spangen have nothing fundamental in common - they are not from the same material, definitely not from the same mold - the date boxes may look similar at first glance, but I will later provide a comparison which leaves no doubt that they are not very closely related at all.
Enough babbling, here are the Spange with the "Minesweeper" comparison shots:
Holding this Spange, comparing the manufacture marks, the material used, the hardware setup (down to the tool marks on the pin) etc - even smelling it (it smells identical to the Deumer badge for instance) - there is no doubt in my mind that this Spange is an original piece - not because I say so - but because of the evidence.
I wish I had a better camera and better photo skills, because then I could fully show what I am talking about - but these photos are good enough I believe to make my point.
Interestingly I see that the book by Frank Thater is being discussed here in this forum and I have been told that this very Spange is pictured in it - I am not sure if this is correct.
As always with these things, what I have presented is my own opinion, an opinion formed by close study and comparison over time. My conclusion is that if the Spange in question is a fake - so is the Deumer badge (which it is not) - they look almost as if they popped out of the same machine.
These two badges are extremely closely related, something I am sure you will appreciate.
But who made it? There I am lost - although the hardware points towards Lüdenscheid-manufacture it would seem.
Feel free to comment on or to contrast my findings - disagreement and debate is an integral part of forums such as this. We all have our different outlooks and references.
Best regards and thanks for your interest,
K§H
I am no longer collecting anything nowadays, but the Spange in question has always had me interested. It is an EKI Spange, made of tombak, with typical hardware setup very common in the Lüdenscheid-area of makers. It is interestingly design-wise somewhat related to the Spange that Mr. Floch must have used to make his notorious fake - a fake that the Spange in question upon closer inspection shares no similarity in manufacture with. In fact the more one compares the notorious Floch to this Spange, the more different they become in all respects. I know that this Spange has on this very forum in the past been deemed to be a "Floch with a reworked head" (right...) - and someone even commented elsewhere that it could be an "earlier" Floch (as if the usage of production material (here tombak) of a post-war faker would mimic the progression of materials as seen during wartime... (from tombak to zinc etc as proper materials became scarcer). There is no such thing as an "early" Floch - and no Flochs have surfaced with wartime hardware either (some collectors seem to scream FLOCH whenever they don't understand something, without backing their opinions up with evidence - but I am sure I need not point this out to the esteemed readers of this forum.
To the point: In order to give the readers a visual experience of why I believe that this Spange must be an original piece I am going to compare this unknown Spange to a well established original badge, a "Minesweeper" by Deumer which is made from the same material, with pretty much identical hardware setup and undoubtedly manufactured by the same process (which I will to the best of my abilities demonstrate).
First as a reminder is the obverse and reverse of the classic (and only) Floch (there are some small hardware variations, but none are even remotely close to wartime setups):
The obverse and reverse of the Spange in question:
On closer inspection it should be pretty evident that these two Spangen have nothing fundamental in common - they are not from the same material, definitely not from the same mold - the date boxes may look similar at first glance, but I will later provide a comparison which leaves no doubt that they are not very closely related at all.
Enough babbling, here are the Spange with the "Minesweeper" comparison shots:
Holding this Spange, comparing the manufacture marks, the material used, the hardware setup (down to the tool marks on the pin) etc - even smelling it (it smells identical to the Deumer badge for instance) - there is no doubt in my mind that this Spange is an original piece - not because I say so - but because of the evidence.
I wish I had a better camera and better photo skills, because then I could fully show what I am talking about - but these photos are good enough I believe to make my point.
Interestingly I see that the book by Frank Thater is being discussed here in this forum and I have been told that this very Spange is pictured in it - I am not sure if this is correct.
As always with these things, what I have presented is my own opinion, an opinion formed by close study and comparison over time. My conclusion is that if the Spange in question is a fake - so is the Deumer badge (which it is not) - they look almost as if they popped out of the same machine.
These two badges are extremely closely related, something I am sure you will appreciate.
But who made it? There I am lost - although the hardware points towards Lüdenscheid-manufacture it would seem.
Feel free to comment on or to contrast my findings - disagreement and debate is an integral part of forums such as this. We all have our different outlooks and references.
Best regards and thanks for your interest,
K§H
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