JFS IAB eye candy in Silver

[Philippe DB]

Hi Guys

This thread probably won't work out in the way I imagined, due to the limitation of my scanner to show you what I would like you to see. I'll give it a try anyway and who know one day I'll be able to post digital pictures of this badge.

Last week I bought what I thought just was a nice silver JFS IAB. Much rarer than the bronze version and always nice to have laying arround for a trade since I already have the one that the old guy in the woods made for me

When it arrived today I couldn't believe my eyes this wasn't just any nice silver grade JFS. This is a heavy chrome plated example. Not something I had ever encountered before on an IAB. The quality of the plating is really amazing and I'm not exaggerating when I tell you that you could use this badge as a little hand mirror. Other strange thing is that the plating only covers the obverse and stops in the middle of the badge, almost cutting it in two halves (cfr. third scan). The lowersides and the reverse just received the normal mat silver finish.

I hope the scans I post now will give you an idea of this IAB's beauty. If anybody else has such chrome plated badges I would love to see them.

KR
Philippe

[Philippe DB]

reverse with the mat finish

[Philippe DB]

Hope this scan allows you to see where the chrome plating stops and the mat finish starts

[Philippe DB]

And here is a compare,


From left to right: Standard finish, chrome plated finish and frosted finish with polished highlights.

KR
Philippe

[gilles]

nice badges .
That's a nice collection of JSF IAB's.
BTW, is it from westland.nl??

greetz
gilles

[Sven Masch]

WOW....what a beauty!!!

[PaulR]

Nice

[David C]

It is very pretty but could it be a GI dress-up perhaps? like those chromed bayonets and Lugers?



Cheers,
David.

[Philippe DB]

Hi David,


Sorry but I'm not familiar with a "GI-dress-up". Can you tell me what that is?

KR
Philippe

[David C]

Sorry Philippe just my own terminology.

You know all the Lugers and K98 bayonets that the American vets liked to have chromed for some reason.

I've never seen any TR badge that has been chromed and I was just wondering if perhaps this one had been plated post liberation as it were.

Just thinking aloud.

Cheers,
David.

[Roman]

VERI NICE!!!!!!!!

KR,
Roman

[Herr Register]

I'm gonna put this one up so I can better compare the tones.
I'm wondering which one mine is.

[Philippe DB]

Hi David,

Rest assured this badge never was in The States before. Chrome finished badges did exist although you won't find a lot of them arround. Also in most cases the quality of the chrome finish is inferior to the one applied on this JFS.

For sure such type of badge IMO would never have been worn in combat. It reflects the sun just like a mirror.

So I can only wonder myself why they were ever produced.

I'l post you two scans of chrome finished PAB's. Not the same quality but definitely different the normally encountered subdued and frosted finishes.

A bit the same problem as with the IAB, the scanner has difficulties in capturing the shiny surface. e.g the darker areas on the gun of the first Aurich aren't from wear but the result of reflection.

KR
Philippe

[Herr Register]

I believe mine is the frosted.

[Philippe DB]

And here is a compare between a more worn chrome finished A.S. next to the more common mat silver finish