Rudolf Souval wide pin

[RogerIng]

I am looking to move this badge on and before i do so would appreciate forum members opinions on whether wartime or post war. Thank you. Front pictures to follow.

[RogerIng]

RS wide pin -

front photo

[rbminis]

War time, you can compare with some others posted here.
http://dev.wehrmacht-awards.com/foru...d.php?t=885918
Ralph.

[RogerIng]

Thank you.

[jlga]

Nice Rudolf Souval wide pin with all the silver finish gone. Maybe some other member can clarify what those red, cooper colour spots are?, maybe rusted or is that the badge is a cupal one?

[jlga]

Anyone please?

[Thomas Durante]

Hi guys,

A "wartime compatible" Souval PAB for me as well. With Souval you can never be 100% confident whether something is wartime or postwar due to their postwar activities, but everything on this one suggests wartime production IMO.

Juan, as far as the reddish/brown spots, I feel this is a bronze grade badges and those spots are what is left of the original bronze finish. This one is not copper coated IMO, nor is it a cupal example. Its just a worn, bronze-grade zinker.

Tom

[jlga]

Thanks Tom, makes sense, normally speaking, most zinc badges lose very easily their finish, as far as I have seen so far, guess it depends if the maker applied some chrome finish and laquer to them or not

[Thomas Durante]

Hi Juan,

Actually, its the quality of the zink used that really affects how well the finish lasts over the years.

Zink is a actually a really good metal to use for badges & awards, because it has a relatively low melting point, easy to work with, and is plentiful. The downside however is that it can have impurities in it and that is what oxidizes when in contact with moisture. So the trick is to refine the zink to remove the impurities. That is where you get the difference between so-called Finezink versus other zinks with lower quality control standards.

AGMuK firms used a good quality Finezink, and that is why most of their AGMuK clasps still look great today, 70+ years after being produced. Most other firms used good quality finezink early on after the switch to zink (1942/1943), but obviously as the war progressed lower quality zink mixtures were used.

Some firms tried to improve the quality of their zink-based badges by adding a copper coating or lacquer as you say, but if the quality of the zink underneath it is low then you will still eventually lose the finish by way of oxidation bubbling of the finish and eventually its all gone.

Tom

[jlga]

Thanks Tom, great to learn something new everyday so following your superb explanation, is it right to say that the zinc used for this badge was not of good quality and thus is a late war period zinker?

Hi Juan,

Actually, its the quality of the zink used that really affects how well the finish lasts over the years.

Zink is a actually a really good metal to use for badges & awards, because it has a relatively low melting point, easy to work with, and is plentiful. The downside however is that it can have impurities in it and that is what oxidizes when in contact with moisture. So the trick is to refine the zink to remove the impurities. That is where you get the difference between so-called Finezink versus other zinks with lower quality control standards.

AGMuK firms used a good quality Finezink, and that is why most of their AGMuK clasps still look great today, 70+ years after being produced. Most other firms used good quality finezink early on after the switch to zink (1942/1943), but obviously as the war progressed lower quality zink mixtures were used.

Some firms tried to improve the quality of their zink-based badges by adding a copper coating or lacquer as you say, but if the quality of the zink underneath it is low then you will still eventually lose the finish by way of oxidation bubbling of the finish and eventually its all gone.

Tom