PAB - Juncker

[Thomas Durante]

Hi guys,

Here is another piece that I just got, looks like an original Juncker PAB to me. I was having a hard time determining if this was a bronze or silver PAB and even if it was an original or not simply because of its weird apearance. Then it occurred to me that it may be a very early Nickel-Silver Juncker that never received any finish at all, and due to the heavy silver content it was tarnished. I dabbed a little silver tarnish remover on the back and sure enough, I think it is tarnish and would clean up nicely with a long bath and polish. But, before I do that, I wanted to get some thoughts from the PAB guru's on its authenticity and if a bath in tarish cleaner all night could possibly hurt the badge at all?

I am very excited since I have always wanted a nice nickel silver "porsche" PAB as Phil calls them, but could never find one available.

Here are her dims:

Height = 60.08 mm
Width = 41.84 mm
Weight = 16.1 grams

Thanks guys.

Tom

[Thomas Durante]

Can anybody guess where I dabbed on the cleaner??

[Graeme]

Hi Tom

I think it is a good un. And you are likely right about the tarnish. I think the dark (black) areas are a separate issue and may be something similar to paint..

I think if you take it easy it should clean up nicely. Don't over do it though.

The bit you cleaned was on the cupola right ??

cheers
Graeme

[scott3000]

Looks like a winner to me

[Christopher G.]

I see 2 dots in the grass...but my pab eyes have gone as of late.

Regards,
Chris G.

[Chet Sowersby]

I have to agree with Chris. I see the two dots also. Not a good sign of an orginal Juncker.

Chet

[Thomas Durante]

Hi guys, thanks for the replies.

Chris & Chet, I think that is a trick of the scan mixed with the patina as there is no raised dots like on the "2 dot fake". Here is a closeup of that area on mine again, no raised dots.

Also, on the 2 dot fake, there is an area to the left of the tank that is supposed to be cut out, but is usually not and very sloppy looking and wide. Even when it is cut out, its much bigger and sloppier than original, which you can see on your 2 dot fake you posted a few days ago and I circled it here. Mine does not have that sloppy area, so its definately not a 2 dot fake.

However, there are good Juncker fakes and I have a hard time telling these apart from the originals as I don't study PABs as close as I do CCCs. Hopefully Phil can chime in here and calm my nerves on this one

Thanks guys.

Tom

[Thomas Durante]

2 dot fake

[Giel VW]

No no, this is deffinitely not a two dot fake!

IMO a nice original Juncker PAB in a some kind of strange condition. I wonder what caused that...

[scott3000]

Upload this picture and blow it up in size and will see the same pattern that looks like 2 dots

[Chet Sowersby]

Tom,
Thanks for the blowup of the wreath. Certinaly not two dots. As Giel noted, a strange finish.

Chet

[Thomas Durante]

Hi guys,

Just FYI, here is Phil's reply:

Hi Tom,

Nothing to worry about my friend 100% original early NS Juncker but the version that received a finish.

The fact that it did receive a finish explains its condition today. Probably due to very poor storage conditions the finish was attacked with different results. The dark areas suffered the most and I don't think that cleaning would bring back the finish. The best preserved areas show the typical Juncker discoloration turning the silver in to a more gold looking finish. As what you did on the reverse shows, cleaning these areas revives the bright silver finish completely.

[Thomas Durante]

I just couldn't stand to leave her be when I know there is much beauty just hiding from a good scrub. I will save the pictures for posterity and so we have an idea of her natural state, but her is the result after a few minutes of cleaning in tarn-x. Pretty remarkable IMO and you can see in a few places that this is actually a tombak badge with a silver frosted finish. Phil was right, she did have a silver finish and it is bright as the day it was applied except for some of the extreme highlights. You can also see on the swastika where it was burnished with an agate stone and on the arms you can see the bare tombak. You can still see the swirls of the stone in the frosted finish! The pin, hinge and catch all received the same frosted finish.

I am quite happy with the results. I have set out all the stuff from my "woodwork" find and am cataloging all of it now. I'll take a bunch of pics and post them in the GCA community forum or the pub. Can't wait for you to see all this stuff, its a really exciting find and I was very lucky to stumble on it.

Thanks

Tom

[Thomas Durante]

swas

[Thomas Durante]

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