A maybe U-Boat badge

[Bobki52]

This badge weighs 21 grams and has the correct dimensions. The pin hardware is whimsy, so it's hard for me to tell. What do you guys think?

[Norm F]

Hi Bobki52,

Wow, an odd one! There are many things I really like about it. The obverse details, margins and finish look good. The L/18 and the shapes of the plates under the hinge and catch look typical for a zinc Mayer.

But the actual hardware is bizarre. Mayer certainly used a similar hinge on Heer badges but not on KM badges, and this one looks slightly narrower than the Heer badge hinges. That improvised wire catch is quite atypical for Mayer, yet the finish goes over top of the solder and it doesn't look like it was replaced.

I'm nervous about the line in the inner margin of the cutout under the sub, and the texture of the reverse. But most of all, I'm concerned about the weight which is considerably higher than I would have expected for a zinc Mayer.

I don't have one to weigh but perhaps mrg and others could chip in with the weights of their zinc Mayers for comparison, and provide further comments on badge.

Like you, I can't yet decide on this one, and despite many good points it makes me uneasy...

Best regards,
---Norm

[mrg]

Hi have to say I am not that keen on this one quite a few things look wrong going off the pictures . Maybe better pictures would help especially of the eagle and the mm which does not look right an exact match from those pics. Norm has already listed most of the concerns, the cut of the catch plate also looks alittle sloppy, along with other parts of the award, again maybe the pics. At the moment not one I would be happy with but thats just my opinion.


Weight for my example is closer to 17 grams.

If you can norm you are more than welcome to post the picture of the Mayer I showed awhile back as a comparison to the one shown. Regards

[Norm F]

...
Weight for my example is closer to 17 grams.

If you can norm you are more than welcome to post the picture of the Mayer I showed awhile back as a comparison to the one shown. Regards

Thanks Gary, here are the photos of your example.

That weight difference is huge, greater than I'd be comfortable with.

Best regards,
---Norm

[Bobki52]

More pics of the badge in question

Here are some additional pics incuding the eagle and the layers. If you need better detail of the eagle's head let me know.

[Tom Yanacek]

This one screams FAKE!

Hello guys,

For me, this one is a crude cast fake. The base metal is too shiny at the worn areas to be zinc. The finish looks bad too: as if the badge was spray painted. The hinge looks crude as if it was cast as part of the badge proper. And the catch plate might be part of an integral casting too. And why drill into the catch plate to attach the catch? Kind of negates the idea of a catch plate does it not? I guess you can always rationalize that the catch is a replacement, but then why is there a finish on the catch?

Best regards,
Tom

[Norm F]

Hi Bobki52,

I'd be interested in Mike Kenny's comments as well, but I believe those lines are quite concerning as signs of casting. When you combine this with the slightly off texture and the wrong weight, I suspect we're looking at a high quality cast reproduction here.

Best regards,
---Norm

Edit: Ah, I see Tom was posting at the same time. Yes, the opinions are mounting...

[Bobki52]

Thanks everyone

Thanks guys. The mounting consensus comes as no surprise becuase this badge came with a lot that were almost all fakes. I didn't post them because even I could tell that they were bad.

Only this badge, and two others, were even close. There was another U-Boat in the lot that weighs 10 grams and appears to be made out of aluminum. A horrible fake.

If you want a good laugh I can post some of the worst of the bad.

[Tom Yanacek]

L/18 front:

[Tom Yanacek]

L/18 reverse:

[Bobki52]

Dimensions on bad L/18

The dimensions of the badge in question are ~47.5mm by ~39.7mm.

[Tom Yanacek]

The dimensions of the badge in question are ~47.5mm by ~39.7mm.

The height of the badge in question seems acceptable, but the width is off by one whole millimeter. To me this is just one more indication of a casting. The weight of the badge in question is way off which tells me that this badge is definitely not made of zinc.

Best regards,
Tom

[Bobki52]

Again, thank you all

OK, that's it. The U-Boat goes into the "return to sender" pile. The only soldier standing, so to speak, is the Luftwaffe Flak badge posted on the Luftwaffe War and Qualification Badges board. So far, it looks like a winner.

[Mike Kenny]

Sorry for the late reply but the casting lines are a killer for this example and (on my computer) "glitzy" finish does not help. The off hardware does not help. All things considered, I agree, a cast fake.

Regards
Mike

[mrg]

Hi guys, thanks for posting norm, If you look closely at the eagle they are not the same. Take notice of the feet area in particular the one bobki shows quite a defined stem coming up from the feet not apparent in mine, other minor differences exist also. Regards