Tank Badge 50, or is it ??

[Don D.]

It says sand to me too, like the sand in the back yard of some faker in Poland cica 1970ish.

[jambobbyb]

It just says to me Afrika Korps,,I can just hear the sand whispering off it!

Dion your a fruit!
Just think of its history, I can see the guy casting this in his pig shed probably in his underpants smoking a fag then comes the crooked dealer with a glint in his eye i can just hear his words "oh yes 100% genuine 50 pab as worn by Michael Wittmann" wow what a history
@ Bog i knew i was doing something wrong i wonder if i could swap it for this example
James

[stewy]

To me it still looks like even the fakers had done such a bad job they gave it an "ground dug" look just to cover their arse. Stewy

[Flemming]

and if all the detail is there on the front, then it is good enough for me.

That is the point here, is does NOT have all the correct details...it lack all of them...well not all, we can see what the badge is trying to be, but also see what it is not...a badge from 2nd WW.

/Flemming

PS But then again, you seem to be happy with it. Just do not try to sell it to someone as a genuine WW2 item please.

PPS This was my post number 1000

[Furher]

Hi Jambobby

I'm afraid the one on the left is a well known Fake!! The one in the right cleary shows signs of age and ware

I am new relatively new to collecting, selling, buying this sort of stuff,
while i have a huge interest in history, and items of yesteryears,
in judging both of these badges side by side, it is quite obvious,
that my badge is not fresh from the mold, and o.k it could well be a repro,
from he 70's, this would explain the hardship the badge has been through,
by probably changing locations of residence, and being placed from one area to another, but this pab25 appears to be no longer than a year or two old unless it has been wrapped up in cotton wool for the last 6 or 7 decades, which i doubt, given the nature of war and it's aftermath

PSS i have just noticed an initial of (W) on the right side of the back i will have to try get a mate to take a close up, for further oppinions,

[Flemming]

If you are look at antique stuff in general you can easily find stuff more then 100 years old that looks pretty damn nice (Close to new in condition). Look at the coins from the Roman Empire, they are like 2000 years old and some of those are still pretty nice to look at. Some of those are in better condition then your badge. So age has nothing to do how a thing would look like in many years, but rather how it was stored.

In my collection I have some items that looks like they have been used, and some are in really nice condition. And all of them should be accepted original examples. I have no numbered PAB to show .

Just a few more cents.

/Flemming

[Don D.]

I am new relatively new to collecting, selling, buying this sort of stuff,
while i have a huge interest in history, and items of yesteryears,
in judging both of these badges side by side, it is quite obvious,
that my badge is not fresh from the mold, and o.k it could well be a repro,
from he 70's, this would explain the hardship the badge has been through,
by probably changing locations of residence, and being placed from one area to another, but this pab25 appears to be no longer than a year or two old unless it has been wrapped up in cotton wool for the last 6 or 7 decades, which i doubt, given the nature of war and it's aftermath

PSS i have just noticed an initial of (W) on the right side of the back i will have to try get a mate to take a close up, for further oppinions,

In the grand scheme of things 60+ years is nothing to a metal item that is not out in the elements. The W on your badge means nothing as it is a fake. The makers that used a W as a mark never made this type of badge.

[Furher]

Lets just wait until i can get this makers mark, photographed in detail, it should give us a bit more evidence,
I agree with you that condition is all about care, but we are talking about war items, they tend to get roughed up a bit even if they are on the winning side, these badges/medals would have been dropped in the ground with men who fell, or pulled from their tunics and put in the pockets of capturing troops, and i doubt it if these pockets were empty of other metals that would have rubbed off the badges to create damage/scrapes and this is just the initial stages, not to mention 7 decades since manufacture, as i said it would be a miracle not to have even some slight scrapes/ damage.

[Don D.]

I'm done. May you enjoy your find.

[stewy]

One reason why the originals retain their detail & class is because the materials used even towards the end of the war were of a higher quality than whatever that's made of. I have Crimean & Boer war medals complete with National Archive provenance in near mint condition. Again remaining in good condition due to manufacturing standards & materials. This is one thing fakers have no concern of. It's a fast buck to them. Stewy

[Furher]

So the makers mark (W) was stamped on other items? i am not being ignorant deliberatly, i am genuinly new to this suff, could anyone elaborate on what this (W) stands for?

[stewy]

Wiedmann's uu maker mark looks remotely like a W,but they didn't do numbered PAB's. Stewy

[münster]

So the makers mark (W) was stamped on other items? i am not being ignorant deliberatly, i am genuinly new to this suff, could anyone elaborate on what this (W) stands for?

if you do not believe us here send it to Niemann for a coa or another well respected dealer. this badge is a horrible fake, nothing can change that. you just have to accept it. the only history with the badge is either in poland or pakistan. this has been buried in a backyard to try and add aging because the original state of the badge was so crappy it fooled no one. any further effort which includes a right click of a mouse or even moving it to a different draw is a waste of energy. this badge is junk. if you do not accept the cold facts here there is nothing anyone can persuade you with and only you can enjoy this pab.

[Furher]

Thanks for that, information
this mark is very close to the rivet on the right,
i have to say it does look like a W but it could well be a mistake, because i do agree, this badge is a bit crude in places, especially in comparison to others,
i have a normal pab aswell and i also agree that the metal seems to be very much stronger, i welcome everybodies input on this thread, and on the badge, so far.
thanks to all

[münster]

Thanks for that, information
this mark is very close to the rivet on the right,
i have to say it does look like a W but it could well be a mistake, because i do agree, this badge is a bit crude in places, especially in comparison to others,
i have a normal pab aswell and i also agree that the metal seems to be very much stronger, i welcome everybodies input on this thread, and on the badge, so far.
thanks to all

it is crude in all places, iam not even into pabs that much but this is a clone of every crappy flea market badge i have seen, and i have seen a ton. i do this for a living and in 1 second i can see a lead fake, iam trying to help you here not pee on your breakfast. everyone here commenting on this piece is also involved in badges probably 15 hours a day and has a lot of money sunk into this hobby/business. i see these types of fakes in droves, there is no hope for yours and that is the gods honest truth.