25 General Assault by JFS

[Mike P.]

Don , I agree that some "old hands" out there are set in their ways and will not consider any new information ..and there's no telling them anything ... " I bought one of these from a Vet back in 1956 so , unless it looks like mine --It's Fake"
Another thing I agree with was your comment " I'm amazed at the number of people that have joined here in the last year and a half who want instant answers when all they have to do is use the search function " ..that's true on all the Forums , however , the main thing here would be knowing if the person posting had been on long enough and should know better .Before I post , I try to remember that we have some who are new to Collecting ...and others who are only new to posting on the Forums . Until they get a feel for any Forum and learn how it all works ..it's very easy to alienate either one of them by telling them (even in a nice way) to "Go look it up for yourself" ..We've all seen the results from that type of answer again and again , usually they take it the wrong way and that's the last we see of them --- and who benefits from that ? But as far as the " Does not match any examples" part ...I hope you can see that I was just using that line as an example . However , I still feel It's only one notch above the one-liner -- " It's Fake"

[Thomas Bendixen]

Wow Mike ...that's quite a few comments you just made on something you - "Can not Comment Definitively on" ...does Franks Book cover the Dental versions ?

Hello Mike P.

Thanks for defending the piece. But as a good friend, I ask that you not taint this posting with anything postive....Funny how everything that I have posted is crap to a few people. Now you can understand, why I have stayed away from these forums.
Regards,
Howard

Hi Howard and Mike P.

I found your sarcastic remarks very impolite. If you post something in public be prepared to get opinions that is not positive. If you want detailed reports - buy a book, find the searcbutton, or pay for an expertise! What Skip, Frank and Mike K. (and others) is doing here is very valuable to me and many others and it is amazing that they do it for free. Lets keep the tone polite.

Cheers Thomas Bendixen
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[Mike P.]

Thomas ...There's no sarcasm going on here ...On Howard's Post , you should have been reading his frustration ...IMO he was getting fed up with the Site. On my posts , please read all of them because otherwise you'll take some statements out of context and will not understand the point I was making.
Here's a simple question for you Thomas ---
If you see a new member , someone who just joined and does not know his way around the site ....and this new Member Posts an item for opinions ...would you welcome him to the Forum by saying to him "Go Buy a Book and Look it Up Yourself " ? ...
Nobody is being rude or starting a fight here Thomas ...I think you just read into what was said the wrong way. ...There's a larger picture here than just Howards Badge ...There are many Collectors still out there who are not members and quite frankly , are afraid to join a Forum because of what they hear , the fights , the games , the Ego's etc. ...if we don't encourage new membership ...it will be our loss

[Thomas Bendixen]

Hi Mike

To be honest, I can fully understand yours and Howards frustration, we all feel that once in a while, but this hobby gets even more frustrating when a civil tone is not kept to the letter and feelings take over. Most who participates here does it to have a good time!

Well back to the hobby - looking foreward to future more positive discussions with you and Howard, thanks for sharing

Cheers Thomas

[Mike P.]

Hi Howard and Mike P.

If you want detailed reports - buy a book,
Cheers Thomas Bendixen
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Hi again Thomas ...I'm glad you understand now and didn't look at it the wrong way . The Forums are a great tool and , we should keep the discussions alive and the membership growing . And I agree 100% with you about buying the Books ..unfortunately many don't make the investment and spend the money on buying items rather than Reference material.
Funny thing is , many of these books have now become collectors items themselves and sell for a lot more than when they were new.
I try to get a mix of the older ref books from the late 60's as well as the newest because it's interesting to compare ...
The only down side of maintaining a "Library" is that they take up a lot of room but ..can't collect without 'em.

[Howard Kelley]

Hi again Thomas ...I'm glad you understand now and didn't look at it the wrong way . The Forums are a great tool and , we should keep the discussions alive and the membership growing . And I agree 100% with you about buying the Books ..unfortunately many don't make the investment and spend the money on buying items rather than Reference material.
Funny thing is , many of these books have now become collectors items themselves and sell for a lot more than when they were new.
I try to get a mix of the older ref books from the late 60's as well as the newest because it's interesting to compare ...
The only down side of maintaining a "Library" is that they take up a lot of room but ..can't collect without 'em.

Hello Mike & Thomas,

I'm sorry to have made scarcastic commments. I was just amazed at other's oninions! Items's that I have owned for years and know to be original pieces, were passed aside and trashed.

When Frank chimed in with his facts. Everything started to change. With no disrespect to Frank H., why should his remarks change the direction of a thread? That has me puzzeled.

As to reference books, I have invested over $15,000 in reference book through my 25 years of collecting. The reference is great to have , but it does not address all my questions. Untill the last 5-8 years every reference book was made with Black and White photos. Which leave much to the imagination. Also in the last 10 to 15 years a new generation of reproduction / fake badges have flooded the market. The reference books have not kept up with the new fakes. In less than a week I have discovered and learned a great deal on many of these "new generation" fakes. And I humbly thank all the members for sharing their knowledge.

Thomas, I'm sorry you found my "sarcastic remarks very impolite". My apoligies.

Before I end this post I have one last scarcastic remark, to quote Thomas, "pay for an expertise"?

How? There is no such thing as an EXPERT. Only those with more knowledge. Ask any of the members that have posted on my threads, I'd dare to say, they themselves would not approve of the term expert. They are always learning something new, (as am I). An Expert knows everything. Hence there are no experts. Only those with more information.

Thomas, I hope this does not offend you. But these are my views of collecting.
And I stand behind everything I have written in this thread.

Best Regards,
Howard

[Jeff V]

You have to remember Howard, this is a discussion forum. If everyone had the same opinions nothing would be gained. We all gain from discussing these pieces. Now having been on your side of the fence with pieces that I owned for a long time condemned as fakes, I understand your point of view. However, after the initial frustration, it makes one that much more grateful and appreciative of the pieces which are good. You have had some good ones and some bad but at the end of the day you have got some very rare and nice badges. best wishes,
jeff

[hagwalther]

Gee, if members are going to get offended by the opinions that are raised on the authenticity or not of the items that they own in their collections then may I suggest that they don't post them here.

Regards ...

[Howard Kelley]

You have to remember Howard, this is a discussion forum. If everyone had the same opinions nothing would be gained. We all gain from discussing these pieces. Now having been on your side of the fence with pieces that I owned for a long time condemned as fakes, I understand your point of view. However, after the initial frustration, it makes one that much more grateful and appreciative of the pieces which are good. You have had some good ones and some bad but at the end of the day you have got some very rare and nice badges. best wishes,
jeff

Hello Jeff,

Yes, indeed this is a dicussion forum. And I welcome the good and the bad remarks. This is how we all learn, and this is the reason I posted the high-end badges. I still have more, but after reading archived threads, my questions were answered. Maybe, I am too much of a detail person. When some makes a remark, go buy some reference books. It does not sit well, since many of the reference books on the market do not address my questions. i.e. Are there any books showing the different examples of Luftwaffe Pilot badges? I know of only one article from Mr. Benders journal, "The Military Advisor". Great piece of work, but IMO difficult to follow.

More reference is need, but author's are faced with a double edged sword. Do I help educate collector's, while also helping the repo artist correct his mistakes? I have an extensive collection of Vietnam Avn. insignia and have pondered publishing a book. But the questions above are holding me back.

Jeff, thank you for your postings. Please keep them coming.

Best Regards,
Howard

[Howard Kelley]

Gee, if members are going to get offended by the opinions that are raised on the authenticity or not of the items that they own in their collections then may I suggest that they don't post them here.

Regards ...

Who is offended?

Not me, words sometimes sting. But copper encased lead can kill!

So don't worry, life is too short.

Eat, drink, and be merry! For tomorrow you die!

Life's a joke, and God's the puppet master! It does not matter to him if a NAZI badge is real or if it is a fake!

Sorry, my for my scarcasim.

I'm just a poor boy, wanting to learn a few tid-bits of knowledge before I die.

Hagwalther, thank you for the warm welcome to your club. Your constructive words are an enlightenment to all new forum users.

Regards,
Howard

[hagwalther]

Hagwalther, thank you for the warm welcome to your club. Your constructive words are an enlightenment to all new forum users.

Thanks, glad to be of assistance in this matter...

[Howard Kelley]

Thanks, glad to be of assistance in this matter...

Good to hear you have a sense of humor! Not much of that around here!

Cheers,
Howard

[hagwalther]

Good to hear you have a sense of humor! Not much of that around here!

Cheers,
Howard

Hi Howard,

There's quite a lot but it's a bit like collecting - sometimes it can be a bit difficult to find.



Regards ...

[Lorenzo Brown]

And on that note....




Thread is closed.