Unknown CCC maker unmasked?

[Marc Garlasco]

Tom,
I just saw this - great detective work! These badges are so underappreciated if you ask me. This kind of work is long overdue. three cheers to you and to Frank for lighting a flame under the community's bottom!
Marc

[Hans N]

Interesting discovery I also find it very plausible, sitting at work so i can******180;t check Franks book or my own files to compare them.

Keep up the good work Tom!

[Gary Cain]

This is my first day back so had missed the beginning, but I have to hand it to you, that is an excellent bit of detective work..I can see no flaws in the evidence to support your theory

Gary

[Thomas Durante]

Marc, Hans & Gary,

Thanks for the reply's guys! This kind of discovery (and the discoveries made in the last year or so) is what makes this hobby so much fun. Little discoveries like this bring collecting these badges to another level. We should enjoy this time while it lasts. There are a finite number of these badges and I think the discoveries will taper off. Not complete be gone, but slowly taper off. This is a very exciting time to be a collector!

Marc, I agree with you 100%, the Nahkampfspange is very unappreciated. Lets see what we can do about that

Tom D.

[Dennis P]

Tom:

This IS a very interesting thread.

When comparing your photos, to those in Frank's book, I can see the similarities which led you to make what I can see to be a very plausible conclusion that S&L might be this CCC maker.

I applaud your continuing efforts to research these unknown CCC makers, and look forward to your article.

Dennis

[Marc Garlasco]

Tom,
When you think about what it took to get the CCC, and then consider the grades, it shocks me that these are not more widely appreciated.
Marc

[Thomas Durante]

Thanks for the reply Dennis .

Mark, I hear ya! Very unappreciated. Just holding a worn out bronze CCC makes me think of what one of these soldiers had to do to earn this little piece of metal. I like them just because of the bravery one had to have to earn it. I also think that it is of the best designed combat award (sorry Philippe).

Tom D.

[Thomas Durante]

Hi guys,

Found a very interesting CCC at the SOS this past weekend. As you know, I've been trying to link this unmarked CCC to Steinhauer and Luck. Well, check this one out, it has a little circular mark under the catch! S&L has been known to use this mark on one of their luft. clasps as well as their E-boat badge (check out Frank's GAB book, page 176). The mark is very faint, and as far as I can tell not stamped in or raised, which is odd. Its an anomoly with the finish, i.e. the finish has remained more crisp on this circular area better than the surrounding finish. I can't explain how this is, but the mark is definately there and a perfect, complete circle. Along with the several other points brought up in this thread, I think it is another indicator that S&L produced these fine looking CCCs.

What do you guys think??

[Thomas Durante]

Reverse

r

[Thomas Durante]

Circle

c

[Graeme]

Hi Tom

Beautiful clasp

But for me the circle is a complete red herring. From the reverse pic it appears to have the same colouring as the larger area near the edge of the clasp. The circle or spot is just a coincidence in my mind. And for me the close up shot shows not a nice clean circle.....

best regards
Graeme

[Frank Heukemes]

These "o" marks by S&L are usually clearly raised on other badges. Does this one have any indication of being raised, Tom, or is it just a different color than the rest of the finish?

[Dennis P]

Tom:

I still find this thread very interesting and the theory plausible, although I am not too sure about the circle on the last CCC as being of the type seen on S&L flight clasps etc.

Congratulations on the pristine CCC pickups you were able to score at the SOS.

For the record, you were one of the forum members I was hoping to meet, and regretably did not.

Keep up the good work in your CCC research endeavors .

Dennis

[Thomas Durante]

Hi guys,

Thanks for the replys. I took some more scans from different angles so that we can see it better.

Frank, as much as I would like to think so, it definately is not a raised or stamped in mark, it is flush with the clasp. As far as I can tell it is just a discoloration of the finish........but in a perfect circle. I agree that this is not proof positive of a S&L connection, but just another piece of the puzzle. Maybe they marked the clasp with some type of ink for the placement of a stamped in "O" mark, but never got around to doing the actual stamping. Just one possibility why the finish stayed on better in this area, than the rest of the clasp.

Lets think in the opposite direction then, what area some opinions as to why the finish would stay on this area as a "perfect circle"? Its too perfect to just be passed off as an anomoly of the finish IMO.

Dennis, I would like to have met you as well. I don't know if you are originally from Cali., but there was another Dennis on here that I think was from France. At the SOS, I talked briefly with a guy that had a thick French accent about a first pattern JFS clasp he had just picked up. If that was you, then we did meet...briefly.

[Thomas Durante]

Another shot

Circle