Third Reich Membership Badge. 1925

[Den]

Hi Guys, I saw this one for sale on EBay, like to bid on it but need to be sure if it's original.
The letter 'A' stands for 'ALPAKA' silver, says the seller, Holders unit and designation nr. VINo. 651.
Date. 7-6-1925.
To me it looks quite convincing, what do you think of it ?
Kr. Den

[Den]

And the back

[Patrick W]

Hi Den,

I am in fact the seller of this badge, notice the similarity in user id! The badge is 100% original and I guarantee that.
As stated in the listing the condition leaves a little to be desired but it would certainly make a good filler until your ready to fork out for a better example.
I'm sure that fellow forum members will confirm my opinion on this. If you have any questions about the badge then please post them in this thread or drop me a pm.

All the best,

Patrick

[TerryG]

Stalhelm

There is a similar badge in Detlev's "Bewertungs Katalog" on page 197. THe markings are very similar indeed except for the large letters (sth?) on the right. The pin base plate and the pin are also slightly different. Can't comment on the other markings. Others on the form may be able to help further.

[Patrick W]

There are several variations of this type of badge. Frank H recently had a very nice one on the e-stand which was buntmetall rather than silver (you could see the base metal through the engraving). His also had the crimped form of pin assembly - not sure if that term is correct but the base plates had a sort of pie crust edge. The 'sth' is the early maker mark for Steinhauer and Luck, I believe they were the only manufacturers of this award.

Patrick

[Patrick W]

Guess what?

Just found out something that I didn't know when I did a search on this forum. Apparantly the 'sth' stands for 'Der Stahlhof' which was the organisations supply section and not Steinhauer and Luck!
Having referenced Robin Lumsden's 'Medals and Decorations of Hitler's Germany' the maker mark for Steinhauer is identical to that on the badge.

Now I'm confused

Robin where are you??!!

[TerryG]

Stalhelm

I hope this scan will come out clear enough.(Detlev's catalogue)

[Patrick W]

Nice one Terry!

That is the type of base plate that I was attempting to describe. Note at the bottom 'A' stands for Alpacka. This is a german silver hallmark for a fairly low grade of silver commonly found in the production of honour goblets.

Regards

Patrick

[McCulloh]

You need to get Verkuilen to have a look. He's the expert on these Stahlhelm pieces. What are the dimensions? weight?

[Tim B.]

"The 'sth' is the early maker mark for Steinhauer and Luck, I believe they were the only manufacturers of this award." I agree with Patrick on this one and the 'A' does stand for Alpacka.

For comparison: Not a 1925 piece, but a similar 1931 that appears unissued.
Tim

[Den]

Hi Patrick, I didn't know a forum member was the seller, it's only great to know that, so i'm quit convinced now that the badge is good, You know what we all say time and time again, check and double check, before I became a member I used to buy almoast everything that had a swastika on it, now I let the forum check it whenever I see a nice piece I'm interested in, and believe me that has saved me alot of money. as I said I like your badge and maybe I will bid on it.
Best wishes. Den