Close Combat Clasp R.S

[CROATIA]

I would appreciate opinions on this ccc.

[fdodge]

Looks like a textbook 1.15.3 Souval in silver, according to Tom's book.
Love that book.
Nice details to the obverse and reverse. It is well preserved.

[CROATIA]

Thanks for info. Photo is taken with flash and clasp is much darker in real.
Is this silver clasp for sure?

[fdodge]

Well, no. I guess I would need to see it in natural light. There seem to be flecks of silver wash on the reverse, where the pin meets the hinge and at the bottom of the S.
Is there any evidence of remaining finish on the side of the pin facing the reverse of the badge?

[CROATIA]

Clasp is verry dark but there are some silver traces.

[Thomas Durante]

Hi guys,

Frank, this is not a 1.15.3, just look at the lack of backplate crimps. This type of clasp is somewhat of a mystery and IMO these are post war reproductions. The share the exact same obverse die as the 1.15.3 & 1.15.4 CCCs, but the reverse setup is not consistent with wartime production. I went out on a limb and purchased one of these as I was researching the book, but when I got it in hand, the quality was quite lacking, even for Rudolf Souval. The hardware was roughly soldered on, and not identical to wartime pins. Same with the hingepin. Mine also had a very dark finish on it, very unlike wartime originals IMO.

This type of RS clasp (without backplate crimps) can also be found with the 1957 pin, which I will post here.

If you look in the reproduction section of the CCC book, you will see that Rudolf Souval clearly used the wartime CCC die to make postwar clasps. I believe the type of clasp that started this thread was probably their first batch of post-war clasps and as the die wore down, they progressively got worse, like the one in the CCC book. Here are some other types of RS clasp like this one show.

Tom

[Thomas Durante]

Here's another one. Notice the very weirdly shaped pin, very unlike what was used with wartime originals. It is interesting to note that the wartime pins used by Souval match those used by other wartime makers, but the pins on these post-war Souval CCCs are much different, not being used by ANY maker.

Tom

[Giel VW]

I agree with Tom, the clasp doesn't look good to me.