A tale of two Minesweepers

[Richard]

I've got 2 Souval minesweeper badges and they appear to be of different compostion and have some slight die differences. Want to see what opinions the members might have in regards to the composition of the more worn of the two examples (one on the left).

It has a silver colored back (first thought it was buntmetall), and where there is wear on the front, there is a grayish to silver color. Weight 25 grams. There is also a dot at about 9 o'clock on the reverse of the wreath. There is no dot after the R but one after the S. Pin is magnetic, slightly longer than on the second badge. Hinge is also magnetic.

The other one appears to be zink, has a gold colored back, and where worn appears to be a dull grey. Weight 22 grams. There is no dot on the wreath and a dot after both the R and the S. Pin and hinge are also magnetic. Eagles head does not appear to be as detailed as the first badge.
Thanks for any help.
Richard V

[John T]

They both have a good look...the one on the right has a wider base to the catch than I am used to seeing and also has what appears to be pitting on the reverse, but has a good overall look...is there by any chance a casting seem around the edge? I have seen Souvals with gold and silver reverses.


John

[Ian Lim]

Hi Richard,


Here are pictures of another RS minesweeper for your comparsion.Gold back but turned a bit dark with age and weight is 22 grams too.

Nice pair of Minesweepers

[Ian Lim]

back

[Frank Heukemes]

I also like both. Catch variations (see Ian Lim´s badge with flatwire catch) are also known for Souval wartime badges.

[Richard]

Thanks for all the response. By the way Ian the one on the right is the one I got from you. It came in yesterday and, as you can see, is a nice upgrade to the one I had. I'm really trying to determine the composition of the one on the left. Originally I thought it was zink, but now am not too sure. It doesn't seem to have the usual zink type oxidation seen on the areas where the wash is worn off. Does anyone know if Souval made badges in any other materials?
Richard V

[Frank Heukemes]

Dear Richard,

It should definitely be zinc (and I think it is).

[John T]

Dear Richard,

It should definitely be zinc (and I think it is).

I agree with Frank...and also I think ALL RS badges are zinc..I never recall seeing an early metal RS piece...which is odd, it would seem they only started producing badges after zinc was being used for the most part.


Does anybody know why this is so?

John