CUPAL anyone?

[mike y]

Nice badge!!!! I too prefer combat worn badges over minty ones.

[Panzercracker]

Thanks Mike. It was quite the coup in a trade. As Will put it, a little prudence goes a long way. Very open communication etc. will make trades like this fly.

[Totenhead]

I see, makes sense,collector sense that is,not investor

Are you a collector Eddie or an investor ??

[Eddie]

Are you a collector Eddie or an investor ??

Collector

[Panzercracker]

Hi all. This badge is just as much an investment piece as it is a collector's piece. One thing I observed, after seeing both "in hand" is that both have never been cleaned/touched in a long time. What's interesting about these badges is I believe they saw service on two completely different fronts. Crazy statement? I think not. My minty one retains a good amount of the silver finish, but Will's badge does also. I should say the "detail" on Will's badge is outstanding for an honest combat worn piece. The only way the "finish" faded in the manner Will's did, is if it was exposed to the sun (North Africa) for prolonged periods. There is no evidence IMO that harsh solvents were used to clean that badge. And, when you see it from the backside, the "silvering" is "more" apparent, which is odd because you would expect the silvering to be more "faded" on the backside of a "worn" badge! Bottom line, Will pointed out early this had a connection with the Afrikakorops and after having "seen" both pieces "in hand", I have little doubt that's where it came from.

[Panzercracker]

Fishing for a timeline etc....

OK, I gave a few of my opinions, so how about some opinions by a few other knowledgeable collectors in this field? For me, it's awfully difficult for me to say with 100% certainty that this is either a bronze piece or a silver piece. I would expect a more "richly" applied silverplate if it were a silver version and it does display a kind of olive hue, on the obverse front. The African theatre connection is something I find interesting and would love to hear opinions on timelines. Another interesting feature about this Juncker badge (if you want to call it that) is the curvature on the lower right given to it during "finishing". You can see it more from the back and is unique to this badge compared with the other known examples. I used arrows to indicate this on the photos above. I'm fishing a bit here and hope someone can help out.

[manse77]

I would say its definately a worn silver grade, the bronze colour is just the copper coating on top of the aluminium. still a nice badge though

Regards

Rhidian

[Eddie]

I agree with Rhidian,this is silver grade PAB.

[Thomas Durante]

AGREED, a silver grade. If it were bronze, there would be no need for a silver coating over the copper top layer of the CUPAL.

Tom

[Panzercracker]

OK, well that ties it back to the DAK then --because if it were the 90th Panzergrenadier was formed after they evacuated to Sicily. I'm not fizzed by the wear because what would you expect from a DAK piece anyway? The provenence and the badge is "right" as silver then. My 1st intuition is correct then, I think.

[Panzercracker]

Before I forget, thanks ....

[willcpfc]

So the swap was 100% successful. A transatlantic trade of a fairly large financial scale. I wont post more pictures of the badge I received from Panzercracker, he has documented it well on other threads and has far better camera skills than I.

Two very rare badges of very different characters, The fine silver finish of one and the super effect of the one shown here. I think the high relief of the detailing shines through on both examples.
I will always admire the sandwich effect of Panzercrackers badge.

Further, this deal shows that this hobby has people willing to trust, engage in 'high end' trades and take the chance. For my part I was happy to do this without question. Another example of how WAF connects people, good people in this area of collecting.