Classification of Minesweeper Badges based on obverse design

[Norm F]

Norm,
I have noticed that on some of the badges not all the acorns are complete but a few look like just acorn "caps". For example on the Schwerin badge it always looks like there are two across from each other on the inner wreath at 3 and 9 o'clock as well as one on the upper outer wreath. These seem to vary. I was wondering if there was any correlation between the wave types you present and the acorn "cap" pattern. I don't think this is just an incomplete strike as it seems too consistent. If this has already been discussed somewhere please forgive me but I don't recall ever seeing it before.
Mike

Hi Mike,

The acorn "caps" you describe are a feature common to all minesweeper badge designs, although they are more or less prominent, depending on the maker. You even see them in the Hymmen and the "SHuCo-like" badges even though they are the two most idiosyncratic wave patterns.

Here's a Schwerin just to illustrate the feature we're talking about.

Best regards,
---Norm

[Mike Coleman]

Norm,
That is exactly what I was talking about. I only have a few minesweepers but in looking at the pictures I think these may also have distinct die characteristics too and wonder if those characteristics correlate to your wave patterns. Maybe just another whorl on the finger print so to speak to help us with identification. Unfortunately on your wave patterns - which is an excellent piece of work by the way - I could not see the entire wreath clearly enough to say that a particular cap pattern goes with a particular wave pattern but not all caps show up the same on the different types of badges from what I have been able to see. Just something to think about. And thank you for responding to my question.
Mike

[Norm F]

Norm,
That is exactly what I was talking about. I only have a few minesweepers but in looking at the pictures I think these may also have distinct die characteristics too and wonder if those characteristics correlate to your wave patterns. Maybe just another whorl on the finger print so to speak to help us with identification. Unfortunately on your wave patterns - which is an excellent piece of work by the way - I could not see the entire wreath clearly enough to say that a particular cap pattern goes with a particular wave pattern but not all caps show up the same on the different types of badges from what I have been able to see. Just something to think about. And thank you for responding to my question.
Mike

Hi Mike,

Since every single maker used his own dies, there are in fact many other die characteristics that distinguish between the 5 wave pattern categories and between makers within each category, so the acorn caps is just one of many different features one could look at. You'll find that the acorn caps differ very slightly between wave pattern categories but also very slightly between makers within each category (although they are remarkably consistent between makers of the Type 2 badges since all of these makers used very closely related sister dies).

The utility of the wave pattern categories lies not so much in identifying a particular maker, so much as to illustrate the homologies between makers of each category. This leads to theories of working relationships between various makers. For example, we can see that RK and AS in category 3, both in Gablonz, used sister dies for their tombak minesweeper production, or that S&L (Lüdenscheid) and Meybauer (Berlin) and many others used sister dies within category 2, suggesting a common die producer for many different manufacturers.

If the goal is just to identify a given unmarked badge, it's the combination of all features that you look at -- wave pattern, eagle, finish, hardware and, most importantly, trimming outlines as viewed from the reverse. You'll find these features far more prominent and useful than the subtlety of acorn caps.

Best regards,
---Norm

[Mike Coleman]

Thank you for sharing your thoughts Norm.
Mike

[Norm F]

Hi Guys,

Hubert (BubbaZ) came up with a beta version of a table of minesweeper variants listed according to the classification system presented in this thread.

This is a fantastic summary, and almost comprehensive. I think with a bit of tweaking and addition of hardware variants, this could become the "industry standard" for the classification of Minesweeper badges.

Well done Hubert!

Best regards,
---Norm

[BubbaZ]

Thanks Norm, nice to hear it

May I email you the .xls file so you could, when you have spare time, do the fine tunning of hardware variants to your best knowledge and post the final version back in your thread here?

Kind regards,
Hubert

[John R.]

Excellent Hubert,

I know a lot of work went into this table to make identification easier for the collector.

I look forward to the slightly adjusted table to be posted by Norm.

John

[Norm F]

The classification system has been finalized. Moving forward, I will update the table as required based upon the evolution of our understanding and keep the latest version posted at the end of this thread.

Best regards,
---Norm

[John R.]

Outstanding work. Thanks to you both.

John

[Mike Coleman]

I can only imagine how many hours of work that represents. Thank you so much for this contribution to our knowledge base.
Mike

[Norm F]

The R.K. badge

With regards to badge 3.1, the R.K. minesweeper, it's important to note that it has been recently pointed out that the attribution of R.K. to Rudolf A. Karneth & Sohn is unverified. Certainly these are Gablonz-made badges and Karneth is a logical candidate but there was also at least one other Gablonz manufacturer of military orders with the initial R.K., namely R. Kreisel.

For more information on the variants of RK minesweeper badges based on the maker's marks see Tony's (entasis) thread: R.K. Minesweeper Maker's Mark Variants

Best regards,
---Norm

[Norm F]

After more study and an interesting discussion thread on GCA, the conclusion is that the hitherto controversial zinc Minesweeper type 3.3 is in fact a post-war fake.

It is worthwhile keeping this fake in the classification system as a warning since it's somewhat unique amongst fakes. Most fakers, including high-end forgers like Staegemeier, attempt to reproduce known originals and pass them off as such, whereas in contrast here we see a unique design of zinc minesweeper produced in considerable quantity with it's own fairly sophisticated tooling. Stylistically, it seems the maker was inspired by the Adolf Scholze design but for whatever reason chose not to make a simple casting of an original. Hard to see why it would be worth the effort for the least valuable of all combat badges - the zinc minesweeper.

In any case, classification system updated to reflect this change.

Best regards,
---Norm

[John R.]

Thanks for the update Norm and of course thanks to Hubert for the concept of the organizational table.

John

[Norm F]

Thanks for the update Norm and of course thanks to Hubert for the concept of the organizational table.

John

I too want to re-iterate my thanks to Hubert.

"The whole is greater than the sum of the parts." --- Aristotle

Best regards,
---Norm

[Norm F]

Latest revision of the Minesweeper Classification Table (April 13, 2019).