Auxiliary Cruiser badge

[Sniper 1987]

This is the first Kriegsmarine badge that has been in my possession, so I am not that familiar with them. I have studied the other threads regarding this badge, to include makers, but did not see any with the same reverse setup. The badge is obviously zinc with little of the gilt remaining. The sheetmetal hinge and pin are magnetic; the catch is not magentic. Any opinions on the maker of this badge would be appreciated.

Matt

[Sniper 1987]

Reverse

[JustinG]

Looks like it could be an unmarked Friedrich Orth piece. Kind of too soon to tell. Would like to see the eagle detail especially the head as well as the ship and man.
Looks promising to me IMHO,

Regards,
JustinG

[Sniper 1987]

Based on some more research, I concur with your assessment that it may be an unmarked FO in zinc. These additional close-up photos are not very good, but may be of assistance. Thanks for your help.

Matt

[Sniper 1987]

Eagle close-up.

[JustinG]

Upon looking at the eagle. The badge seems to have a great deal of detail and crispness along the wings and such, the metal edging remaining around the eagle beak neck and the right upper wing has me a bit puzzled. I don't know the specifics of the badge but this raises my suspicion a bit.
Maybe other collectors could post their FO Aux. Cruiser badges and we can have a comparison. (presuming that this is a F.O. Unmarked badge.

Best Regards,
JustinG

[Sniper 1987]

Another photo of the eagle, hopefully better quality. The head of the eagle is not the best strike; there is some extra metal under the beak from the strike that was not removed. Thanks again for the comments.

Matt

[John R.]

Doubt if it is FO. Lets see what Martin and some others have to say.

Here is an FO for comparison. John

[Martin W]

Hi John,

well,this is definately not an FO Badge.FO HSK badges,from what i know are all of single piece construction.If we look at Matt's badge we can see that it is of riveted ,two pice construction.
There are big differences in the eagle,sail,etc.
Here is an FO that i have for comparison.

[Martin W]

FO,reverse.

[Martin W]

Now,Matt's badge is a good original zincer by an unknown maker,to me,at this point.
It is one of a series of unmarked badges that IMO came from the same set of dies.
I say this because all of the examples i have of this type of badge are virtualy identical,with the exception of the finish and the reverse hardware.
Matt,if you compare your badge to the examples i am posting below,you will see some definate similarities in the eagle,globe and the reverse outline,especially.
Also notice the pointed "spurs" that protrude from the tip of the sail and from the oak leaf next to it on the wreath.
Here are two of this umarked type that i have.As we can see they both have different reverse set-ups but are very similar in every other way.

Regards,Martin.

[Martin W]

Reverse of above badges.
Matt can you post a more detailed photo of the reverse of your badge to compare with these?

Thanks,Martin.

[Sniper 1987]

Hinge close-up. There is no recessed area on the badge to guide the placement of the hinge. It is just soldered to a flat area.

[Sniper 1987]

Close-up of catch (round wire shaped like a ?). It appears to be heavily soldered to the badge. The rivet is barely visible behind the catch in the photo. I noted the details on my badge that you described. Thanks for all of your expertise.

[Martin W]

Thanks for the additional photo's Matt.I would llike to see a couple of nice sharp photo's of the obverse and reverse,if that is possible?
As i mentioned i think this is an original zinc badge and it is the first one i have seen of this "unknown type",with this reverse set-up.

Thanks,Martin.