Tank Destoyer Badge

[ww2germanhelmet]

Here's another one I am considering picking up. It has the original issue envelop with it. I am liking this one but have never owned one so I know enough to be dangerous. I'd appreciate your opinions on the authenticity of this one. Thanks!

[ww2germanhelmet]

backside

[Nordmark]

Hi Dave,


this one was discussed a while back. Conclusion was: nice original badge. The bag is most likely a reproduction.




Regards,



Daniel

[ww2germanhelmet]

Hi Daniel, thanks for the opinion and the heads up. So I will just purchase based on the badge itself.

[AndyC]

The TDB is a nice original but i dont know about the bag


Andy

[Giel VW]

Those bags are not good. Very nice TDB though!

[ww2germanhelmet]

Gentleman, just a quick note of thanks for checking out the badge for me. It's really awesome to have you guys as a resource as it's a real minefield out there for guys like me that aren't well versed in the medals & badges.

[Tim Curley]

If you are interested in educating yourself about this award, Neil Stewart and I wrote and published BULLS-EYE: German Army Marksmanship Lanyards and Tank Destruction Badges.

At the SOS a German fellow came up to our table, browsing through a copy of BULLS-EYE. He commented that he had never bought a TDB because "no one can tell the difference between a repro and an original." I disagreed with him. He wanted to know how I could tell the difference. I told him I had studied TDBs for several years, assessing many examples, looking at period photos, and digging into regulations.

Then I took him to a table to show him an original, near-mint Silver TDB, showing him the details that identified it as an original TDB. He grunted and walked away. A short time later he reappeared at our table with the TDB in hand, having decided to buy it. We talked about knowledge and he bought a copy of BULLS-EYE. Now he will know for himself what to look for should he decide to buy another TDB somewhere down the line.

[deejay]

If you are interested in educating yourself about this award, Neil Stewart and I wrote and published BULLS-EYE: German Army Marksmanship Lanyards and Tank Destruction Badges.
~decide to buy another TDB somewhere down the line.

Tim,

with all due respect, I have to let this one out.

I think this forum (and so our knowledge) should be the major source for this kind of information. Too many books contain incorrect and outdated information but cost a fortune.
I give the knowledge that I have, away for free and try to maintain an easily accessible source for all young and old, for the poor and also the rich interested in this hobby. Believe me - in the end - it pays off more by sharing information for free than selling a few books to the people who can afford it - reliable free information on this subject will inspire more collectors and so in the future make it more worthy, not only to you and Niel Stewart; but to us all.

[Tim Curley]

Dirk,

1. Your altruism in this area of collecting is admirable. The internet is certainly a valuable tool for collectors. You should keep on doing what you are doing.

2. Our book is well researched and it is not expensive - $60.

3. Having been an author and having worked with other authors, I have found most have not produced a book looking to make money. They have put in a lot of time, effort, and money to master some part of our hobby that intrigues them. The best they can hope for is to break even on their expenses.

4. A well done book puts forward a researched, coherent, thought out, organized, and clear presentation of a specific subject. No book is perfect and neither is life.

As collectors we continually make decisions on what we will spend our limited funds on. I have a large number of books I constantly use for reference as well as using the internet. Not surprisingly, as a publisher, I am interested in selling books. If folks are not interested in buying them, I will get the message and move onto some other endeavor.

[Bruce Simcox]

Hi Dirk......

......I too agree with what you have to say about sharing what information we have gleaned over the years freely, and as best we can, using this venue. I'm pretty sure that was Seba's original idea behind the creation and maintainance of this website.

However, I also have to agree with Tim. Not all of us have the means, the talent, the time or even the patience perhaps, to take our accumulated knowledge and assemble it into book form. Even though there is a wealth of information available, on almost any given aspect of this particular collecting field here, a well written book makes referencing much quicker for some(including myself) as well as being portable.

Therefore, I find it more than helpful when fellow collectors author, and even sometimes publish, books pertaining to our hobby. We get the best of both worlds quite effectively IMHO.

My $.02

[ngs3]

Simple math . . .

What has been said in the last few posts lays out the knowledge proposition logically. Let me add a further two cents making the total four cents so far; or, better said:

1. Silver TDB for $700--if fake a lot of money thrown away or -$700.

2. An authoritative book, $60 + the anecdote from Tim =$760 for a real one or +$760. The buyer went home happy.

I began seriously collecting in the early 1970s and quickly realized I needed books to help me understand the good from the bad that existed way back then. I still have those books because they remind me that careful research is a help; conventional wisdom is not careful, it is merely consensus on something (that led to a lot of Austrian TDBs going into collections in the 1970s & 1980s), the internet is full of wonderful information--including this Forum--but it is full of good and bad information because there are no ways to control what is posted. That is true even on this forum. Fortunately some people are eventually recognized as speaking with authority and some are eventually recognized as fools. Unfortunately, unlike in our book, it is not always possible to get the correct answer before you spend your money. The point of buying authoritative books is to eliminate uncertainty. I think to ignore them increases uncertainty as measured by formula 1. above.

No matter whether you are a reader--every collection gets stuck with something bogus. I know, I've got a junk drawer where my bad decisions collect dust. Fortunately for me, my badges usually cost less than $25 (and I have a gold and a silver TDB in that junk drawer).

Every time you buy, you spend your money based on your knowledge. Tim and I have shared ours in several Forums, in several very well researched authoritative books, and to countless fellow collectors who seek our opinions. In fact, those people, often who became our readers, are what inspired us to write and publish.

Bottom line, it's your money, do what you think best.

[Ludwig]

Good badge, bad bag.

[deejay]

Niel, Bruce and Tim,

thanks for your responses.