East Medal - Weird 'S' - opinions please

[ancientrelicsuk]

Hi Guys,

I would welcome comments on this East Medal. Not maker marked but looks good to me, except the 'S' in 'OSTEN' which looks pretty misshapen, particularly the top. Is this a known type or a cause for concern?

Many thanks for looking and for any comments.

All the best, Guy

[RKC]

It's "Original"!

You've got yourself a 'factory f..k-up by 'OTTO ZAPPE' from Gablonz A.N.

You most likely have the 2nd 'f..k-up' because your "S" is really bad on
the medal you have compared to the illustration Sascha Weber has
of the 1st one in his book "Die Medaille Winterschlacht im Osten
1941/42 (Ostmedaille)".

Referring to the book you have to see page #159 to see the 3 errors
of 'Otto Zappe's 1st medal produced. Then see page #217 to see
the other "Pforzheimer-Design" errors.

Your medal is covered in these pages & is an 'exact' piece from the
'Otto Zappe' factory but, your problem "S" is not covered on these
because there probably wasn't one readily available for Sascha to
get photos of & cover the history of yours.

Well, at least you found out it was an original!


Ron.

[Gruzd]

Medal original. As for the letter S - is a a factory defect. Such a marriage is encountered from other manufacturers. As an example - the medal produced by Steinhauer & Luck.
S&L
____
Best regards, Vladimir.

[ancientrelicsuk]

Many thanks Ron and Vladimir for the and for the explanation of the die flaw. I thought the medal was probably original but the 'S' looked a bit extreme to be sure. I have Sascha's excellent book - I just wish it would come out as an English edition - perhaps a good project for B&D.

Thank you again for your very useful comments and for the attribution.

Cheers, Guy