Unmarked CCC

[Thomas Durante]

Hi guys,

Found this nice looking and well made unmarked CCC today. High quality die strike and nice silver finish remaining. Its unmarked, anyone care to identify it? Here are the dimensions:

Length = 97.99 mm
Height = 26.54 mm
Weight = 36.0 grams

Thanks

Tom

[Thomas Durante]

Reverse with pin

r

[Thomas Durante]

Reverse with pin open

Last one, with pin open.

Merry Christmas Eve everyone!

Tom

[NORDEWIN]

I'm not expert.
IMO

[scott3000]

Tom,
Ill take a stupid guess...RS?

[Hans N]

Hello Tom,

Sitting at work and i would guess out of my head a S&L CCC.

[Porsche]

Tom,
it's heavy, it has a JFS(1.12)/AGMuk obverse, but it doesn't have a JFS reverse, it looks more like a Hobacher(1.10). I would also question the form at the end of the bayonet. If I saw this at a dealers, armed with your book I think I'd pass on it.

Neil

[Thomas Durante]

Hi guys,

Neil, you were so close my friend! I like your analysis and you are right, it is definately a reproduction. It is a variation of the common F&BL Reproduction #5, the "butterknife fake". The F&BL fake has been out for several years and most people know about them already, so I believe the fakers have modified it to make it much harder to detect by removing the F&BL mark from under the catch. By removing the bogus maker mark, it will no doubt fool some people in the future into purchasing it and thinking it is a variant of an original S&L CCC due to the similarity in backplate crimping. If you study the obverse of these fakes though, you can never make the mistake of confusing it with a high quality original like S&L CCCs.

I think the lack of responses here is due to the fact that I posted it and made it sound like I thought it was an original. I am sure more people were able to reconginze this but were unsure of themselves to post a negative response. Trust your instincts guys! I hope more people in the future will trust their instincts and call out a fake badge, regardless of who posts the thread. Now that the book is out, the fakes will no doubt try to modify their wares to not look like the fakes featured in there, so you MUST keep you wits about you, and you will never go wrong. The fakers will ALWAYS mess something up.

Thanks guys, hope everyone had a great Christmas.

Tom

[Don D.]

Hi Tom. Sorry to say but you picked a bad time to try a test of your book. I've been hosting company all weekend and everytime I picked up the book my wife had me do something else.

On another note, I didn't see the MH fake in your book. Did I miss something or am I going blind?

[Thomas Durante]

Hi Don,

The MH fake is not in there. I tried for months to get one in my hands to photograph, but to no avail. I found one at the SOS 3 years ago, and I went back to that same dealer for the past 2 years at the SOS and the MAX to see if he had it again to photograph, but he never did. After the book was already at the publishers, I found it on a website and considered buying it to photograph better, but I figured I would just post the comparisons in a thread on the forums, which I did about a month or so ago.

Although the MH didn't make it in the book, it brother is in the book, FLL Reporoduction #8. It is also a relative of Reproduction #5, the F&BL and with the one that started this thread, All were made with the same reverse die, but just the maker marks were changed, or left off and the hardware was switched up.

This is usually a slow period on the forums, so to keep things active is the only reason I posted this little test. No time like the present to reveal a recent "hot off the presses" reproduction .

Hope you enjoy the book Don!

Tom

[Don D.]

Tom, I had no idea of the number of variants of the CCC until I read the book. Now I have to go back through to train the eye.