18 Year Police LS - The Nod Please!

[TobyR]

Hi Everybody,

I'm in the process of buying this award. I'm pretty confident about it but the ribbon unsettles me a little. The eagle looks a little cruder than other examples I've seen. Though, I'm still prone to think its right. Also, you can see (above the eagle) where the pinback fastening used to be.

Consequently, would somebody mind just giving me the nod as to whether this one is okay or not before I proceed.

Thanks for your time.
Toby.

[TobyR]

And here's the reverse:

[TobyR]

And the ribbon (obverse):

[TobyR]

And finally... the reverse of the ribbon:

[Rick Research]

Here's a 25 for comparison from my cousin Ted's collection.

Compare the usual top quality frosted and polished finish on this one, and the one in thread started by budulai if you do a search on "police 18." It may just be your scan, but the finish on yours looks strange, and the eagle's beak odd.

[Paul Massucci]

Here's another 25 year one with the 51mm wide ribbon

[Paul Massucci]

detail

[Vadim K]

The finish does look rough and the embroidery on the device looks a bit too crude, no?

What is the story with wing feathers? On the 18 I have and most others I have seen, there are 2 layers of feathers, with the eagle's "shoulders" being smooth. I have seen some, including Toby's example here, with 3 layers of feathers. Is this a variation? Different maker? Cause for concern?

[Frank Heukemes]

Dear Toby,

I personally would stay away from any police long service cross, be it 18 or 25 that looks different than the ones Rick and Paul show.

Let´s assume the best case and that cross is from some strange maker, but you will always have it questioned. Too much trouble for an award that can easily be found in a textbook version. I would only buy it if I had already 25 and was a bit bored and looking for "exotic stuff".

Cheers, Frank

[TobyR]

Dear Rick, Paul, Vadim and Frank,

Many thanks for your input on this one. From what you've all said, there's just too much to worry about. Consequently, I'm going to give this one a wide berth.

Thanks again,
Toby.

[Vadim K]

Good idea, Toby. Like Frank said, genuine examples of this award are not that hard to find, so why buy a suspect one?

Anyone has an answer to the question I asked above, regarding number of feather layers?