Spanish Blue Division Medal - Good Or Bad?

[TobyR]

Hi Everybody,

Please could you give me your opinions on this Blue Division Medal. I'm not familiar enough with this award to know whether it's right or not. If it's right would you say it's of Spanish manufacture? It doesn't seem of particularly good quality - the swastika for example - hence my suspicions.

Thanks for your time.

Cheers,
Toby.

[TobyR]

And here's the reverse:

[anguspm]

Hi Toby,

Initial thoughts and without owning one but having viewed plenty it looks like the copies I see at the markets here every week. I do stand to be corrected on this but it doesn't look like the genuine ones I've seen.

Regards,

Angus

[Frank Heukemes]

Dear Toby,

For what it´s worth:
All of the pictures I have of good variations do not have that kind of crappy swastika.

Cheers, Frank

[J Temple-West]

Do we then say that the example shown on the sites reference pages, is fake?
http://dev.wehrmacht-awards.com/axis...e_division.htm

I have one of these awards (darkened version), which I believe to be an original example of either German or Spanish manufacture, not being an expert on these awards, it's always confusing as to which is which, and It has a similar swas. In fact there are three types of this award, the German (which is the most common) , the Spanish pattern ( considered scarce) and a high quality version, also produced by the Spanish (considered extreamly rare). All the fake and post war examples, I've seen, do not have the cut out talons as per the one that toby shows.
Again, I'm no expert on these awards but think it worth further Investigation before writing off Tobys' example..

[Joseph D'Errico]

Hello John,

I concur with Frank, I think that the example that Toby posted is a repo. I do not own one of these and have made my conclusions from reference pics. Your example is way off the mark in detail; the wings are lacking feather detail ( really bad) , the claws are very different ( oversized, alot not a little).

If you want to use the example on the link you posted they are not really close.

Toby, if you have purchased this piece, I would suggest returning it.

Best Regards,
JD

[J Temple-West]

Well, forgot that I had the carton for my example, so here it is..
Spanish made, by Diez Y Compania, S.A - Madrid.

[Angel Farré]

I want to end with a myth, no German version of this medal exists, only Spanish made, you can make a search into this web and found several times discused this matter and in one I post pictures of originals, wartime and postwar time, and copies. Also one for the "officers" version, in fact just a better one made by jewellers and open to all ranks who could pay it.

Angel

[J Temple-West]

FAKE..FAKE...FAKE!!

Typical FAKE..

[TobyR]

Hi Everybody!

Thanks for the comments. Having read them all, I'm not quite sure what to make of mine. It would certainly seem to have a lot in common with John's one and also with the one on the Association's reference pages. Also, there are some distinct differences between mine and the fake posted by John.

What to make of it all? I'm not sure but fascinating all the same.

Angel - what do you think of mine and John's examples?

Cheers,
Toby.

[Angel Farré]

I don't like yours and need a better scan of the reverse of John's, but I think is O.K.

Angel

[Brian S]

Looks like the one run after the war for the vets without the spaces between the talons.

[Tony Farrell]

Spanish Volunteers' Medal

Crikey! What on Earth am I doing in the General Wehrmacht Awards section? Ah well, 'cause I've got this beastie to show off. I understand it to be a post war manufactured example, but manufactured by whom? Is this yet another example of fakery? You be the judge. And don't worry, I didn't break the bank with this one - it came with a free beer too!

[Tony Farrell]

And the reverse:

[Angel Farré]

Make alittle search and you will find a couple of thread where this medal was discussed in depth and found some photos from originals and the different restrikes and copies, also you find info that allows you to date you medals and found if is an original, a postwar restrike or a copy.

[SIZE=7][COLOR=Red]PLEASE DON'T SAY ANYMORE THAT A GERMAN VERSION OF THIS MEDAL EXIST AS IT WAS NEVER MANUFACTURED BY THE GERMANS!!!

Angel