Pawn Forfeitures

[Tom Yanacek]

Hi guys,

I received this small lot of items in the mail today. They were from an auction of pawn forfeitures. I won this auction for a super-bargain price and, because these items were not consignment, the commission was only 5%.

I've no doubt that these are all pieces produced by Wilhelm Deumer and they were probably attached to a Deumer display board at one time.

Hope you like them. Thanks for looking.

Best regards,
Tom

[Tom Yanacek]

Now here are better pictures of each piece, starting with the lowliest and ending with the nicest.

The lowly, 1939 War Merit Medal:

[Tom Yanacek]

The mediocre, Marksmanship Lanyard Badge:

[Tom Yanacek]

The nice, except it's missing its prongs, Narvik Shield:

[Tom Yanacek]

The really nice, Deumer-made Dr. Fritz Todt Prize:

(65.66mm high x 41.87mm wide and 37.1 grams)

[bytown]

A nice group of items.

Wayne

[Matthew]

Wonderful group- the Todt Prize is the icing here. Great shape as well.

cheers

Matt

[tranchant]

fritz todt

hello tom
the FRITZ TODT is wonderful!
best regards
patrick

[Antonio Scapini]

You had a good eye my friend on these pieces, and I agree with you the could come from a display board.
The Todt badge is a very beautiful piece, the gem of the group.

[luftkrieg]

Well done on obtaining these items Tom.

Best
Pierce

[Tom Yanacek]

Thank you!

Thanks for the comments, Wayne, Matt, Patrick, Antonio, and Pierce. I really like my new Fritz Todt Prize.

Best regards,
Tom

[Tom Yanacek]

Here are some more picture of the Dr. Fritz Todt Prize:

Despite the fact that these were late war pieces (instituted in late 1943 and produced in 1944-45) they were still well-made. The Deumer-produced examples were all made from zinc and are non-magnetic. All of the hardware on the reverse (main pin, hinge pin, barrel hinge, barrel sleeve, hinge plate, catch, and catch plate) is non-magnetic too.

The reverse surface of the Deumer-produced examples should have a grainy texture. The grain runs horizontally across the reverse and is most noticeable in the straight on shot of the reverse, (shown above in post #5). If you run your finger across the reverse, you should be able to feel it as it is very distinct to the touch. Whether this grain is due to a milling operation, surface grinder, or just a characteristic of the base material used I don't rightly know. I do know that I would be careful if it is not present. For me, a smooth reverse surface on a supposed Deumer is a big red flag. You will almost always find some other surface imperfections as well, such as bubbling of the finish.

In the pictures below, note the thick, beefy main pin. These pieces should never have flimsy pins. Also note that rectangular plates with rounded ends were used for attaching both the catch and the hinge. This was a matter of necessity as it is just about impossible to solder small components to a zinc-based badge. (Look at the zinc Narvik Shield shown above in post #4 to see an example of what happens when you try to solder small components to zinc: all four prongs came off of that shield because the welds did not hold.) But with the utilization of catch and hinge plates, there is more surface area interface to achieve a stronger bond.

[Tom Yanacek]

Another oblique view:

[Tom Yanacek]

Here are a few views of the barrel hinge:

The quality of the hardware is first-rate IMO.

[Tom Yanacek]

Another view of the hinge: