JFS Destroyer Badge

[Eric Stahlhut]

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[Eric Stahlhut]

Dammit! What happened to the $#@!*& pin!

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[Jan Arne S]

JFS Destroyer

Hi Eric !
Here is my JFS Destroyer , with pin .

Jan Arne

[Jeff V]

Hi everyone,

I just purchased an identical badge to Eric's with pin. I just wanted to make sure this jfs hinge setup is original as most seem to have the round hinge. The rest of the badge seems to be the same as the type than Jan posted. Any thoughts would be appreciated.
jeff

[Tom Yanacek]

Hello Guys!

Personally, I would not buy a JFS Destroyer Badge unless it looks like the one posted by Jan Arne. In my opinion, the real ones should have the crimped-in ball hinge, surrounded by a raised, circular boss. I have never liked a JFS Destroyer Badge that sports a standard type hinge. The ones I have seen have been typically crude castings. The badge posted by Eric does look much better than the ones I usually see, but I think it still falls short of what an original should look like. The badge looks to me like it was cast from an original, from some type of white metal alloy. The detail appears soft to me. I wouldn't be surprised if that standard type hinge is actually an integral part of the badge casting, rather than a separate attachment. I would give that hinge area some careful scrutiny using magnification. I hope that I am wrong about this, but to the best of my knowledge, the standard hinge is not proper for this type of badge. If anyone knows otherwise, please resond and post some pictures if possible as I am always willing to learn.
Here is a JFS Destroyer Badge from my collection. It is zinc, and appears to have had a copper plate to the wreath and reverse, over which the gilting was applied.
Best regards! Tom

[Tom Yanacek]

reverse:

[Tom Yanacek]

pin, hinge, and catch:

[Lorenzo Brown]

Hmmmm...interesting badge. I have never seen a JFS Destroyer with that type of hinge, and would certainly prefer the round ball-hinge.

The badge does not look like a cast reproduction to me. The details on the front are very sharp. Also, the top hook and catch assemblies look correct with the round assemblies.

My first thought was that the hinge may be a replacement...but I don't see any remnants of the original round casting assembly.

One might say that they ran out of ball-hinges and used a standard hinge....BUT if that were the case, the original ball-hinge casting marks should be there!!...
...but they're not!

Curious badge.

[Darrell]

Now we are getting into my area

I guess it wouldn't hurt to gloat too

Like Tom / Jan Arne and Lorenzo have said, the ball hinge is the deal ....

[Darrell]

rv

[Tom Yanacek]

Nice Destroyer Badge, Darrell.

Hey Lorenzo,
You are right in that the detail looks pretty good in most areas on Eric's badge. Does it look like it is made of zinc to you? Looking at the water area and destroyer on the front, and the reverse, lower edges of the wreath does not give me the impression of a zinc badge. Does the maker mark look crisp enough to you on Eric's badge? Maybe it's just the pictures though. I would love to examine this badge in-hand. I still do not have a good feeling about it.

Hey Eric,
If possible, I would like to see some better pictures of this badge, especially of the hinge and surrounding area. Also, some measurements might help.

Hey Jeff,
Would you be able to post some pictures of your Destroyer Badge, that has the same type of hinge as Eric's?

Best regards to all! Tom

[Lorenzo Brown]

Nice Destroyer Badge, Darrell.

Hey Lorenzo,
You are right in that the detail looks pretty good in most areas on Eric's badge. Does it look like it is made of zinc to you? Looking at the water area and destroyer on the front, and the reverse, lower edges of the wreath does not give me the impression of a zinc badge. Does the maker mark look crisp enough to you on Eric's badge? Maybe it's just the pictures though. I would love to examine this badge in-hand. I still do not have a good feeling about it.
Best regards to all! Tom

No...I am not "sold" on this badge. But I am also not ready to say "Fake". Agree that better pictures and at best an "in-hand" study is needed.

I can't figure out why the top-hook and catch assembles show the correct style of round settings while the hinge shows no suggestion of the original casting for the ball-hinge set-up. Regarding the mark....agree that it looks "mushy" but that may be the pictures.

Still say..."curious badge".

[Tom Yanacek]

Hello to all,

If anyone has a copy of Soldat: The Reproductions- The Post War Years, volume 11, by Cyrus Lee, copyright 1994, check out page # 268. It shows some U.S. produced, reproductions of Kriegsmarine Badges. One of the examples shown is a JFS Destroyer Badge. It looks well detailed on the front, and the reverse features the round bosses for the catch and top hook, but it has a standard type hinge.
Best regards! Tom

[Jeff V]

Hi Tom, I will check that out when I get home from work. The badge I have sure does not appear to be cast. I don't have a camera but it looks almost exactly the same as eric's except the finish is a little better. I don't understand why the fakers could make a nearly perfect badge but then put a totally different hinge on when they got the other details so good? Anyway, if bad it will be going back. Any other opinions out there? Thanks to all the opinions so far.

jeff

[Lorenzo Brown]

Hi Guys...Although he determined his badges to be fakes, Jeff sent me his fake JFS Destroyer badge along with a second "flat pin" variation that he happened to have. I have photo'd them and taken measurements to compare to a known authentic badge. Here are the results:

The badge on the left is authentic (Real), followed by a fake "round pin" variation(Badge A) then a fake "flat pin" variation (Badge B).

Statistics:
Real badge:
Weight: 23.5 grams
Height: 54.3 mm
Width to bow tip: 45.9 mm
Thickness at bow: 2.25mm

Badge A
Weight: 23.4 grams
Height: 53.6 mm
Width to bow tip: 45.2 mm
Thickness at bow: 2.0 mm

Badge B
Weight: 20.9 grams
Height: 53.4 mm
Width to bow tip: 45.3 mm
Thickness at bow: 1.8 mm

Obverses:


Reverse Real:


Reverse Badge A:


Reverse Badge B: