U-boat War Badge with Diamonds today!

[Norm F]

Hi Sepp,

The obverse detail is not as good and the construction of the swastika is incorrect. Is there any story to go with that one?

Best regards,
---Norm

[John R.]

Hi guys!

I'll leave this one here for consideration

Currently shown at the International Museum of World War II (Boston)

Where did you get this image?

John

[John R.]

Got it:

https://museumofworldwarii.org/explore/collection/

[John R.]

In any case, it does not appear to be correct. Need to do a bit of forensic analysis first though.

John

[John R.]

Here are some comparisons:

[John R.]

It is not a bad example though, very close. Like to see the reverse, but the swaz, as Norm says, looks almost too good this time in regards to the very precise spaces between the legs.

The diamonds do look rough, but the photography and flash makes identification a little more difficult.

John

[John R.]

Sure looks like tombak to me, but not sure. John

[Norm F]

Close comparisons tell the story. The badge in question looks pretty good because in fact it's a regular Schwerin later Tombak U-Boat badge which has been altered by a jeweller with the addition of the diamond swastika.

Side-by-side comparisons with original Type 1 Diamonds badges clearly show the differences:
1) Worse obverse detail than the diamonds badges
2) narrower main pin at the bottom and visible lower margin of the hinge block
3) incorrect structure of the diamond swastika with mismatch in colour

[Norm F]

Now, when you compare the Boston badge to a normal later Tombak Schwerin badge you see they're the same. The later unmarked Tombak badges (in this case UC# 1.1.9) have the same softened obverse detail and same cutout margins around the U-Boat, and the pin width and lower margin of the hinge block are visible to the same degree.

A photo of the reverse of the Boston badge would clinch it, but I'm pretty sure that's what we're seeing here.

[Sepp45]

Thanks Norm and John for your input!

Great analysis Norm, as always

[Norm F]

The size and construction of the swastika on the Boston badge are very similar to those seen on the old "puffy-eye" fakes with diamonds previously marketed by "Roger F. Honts/R. Friedrich" and Terry von Kohler and others. (Two examples of this type of fake are attached here.)

They're not an exact match, however, and the badge is different so I don't know if there's any connection, but just noting the similarity in the swastikas.

[101combatvet]

May I add a thought here? Why would Dönitz ordered 100 of these badges? I know the U-boot were being extremely successful in the Atlantic, but.. why so many? Not even Göring asked for that many PO badges with Diamonds.

The website Uboat.net has listed 12 U-boat Commanders decorated with U-boat War Badge with Diamonds (corresponding with wartime evidence).

http://uboat.net/men/decorations/badgebri.htm

So this was just a badge exchange without qualifications?

[Norm F]

So this was just a badge exchange without qualifications?

Hi 101combatvet,

The "qualifications" were described by Sepp in the opening post of this thread. The KM Diamonds badges were not official Wehrmacht awards but rather a pet project of Grossadmiral Raeder who awarded them at his discretion to eligible recipients of the Oak leaves.

The list of 30 eligible recipients of the U-Boat badge with diamonds by that criterion can be seen in post #171, but not all would have actually received it.

(The quoted suggestion that 100 badges were ordered by Dönitz is uncorroborated, and not logical when you think about it.)

Best regards,
---Norm

[John R.]

To further our knowledge of this example, it is my opinion/understanding, that in days gone by and when U-boat badges were fairly inexpensive, some collectors expended one or two to create a diamonds U-boat. Not meant to sell as an awarded piece, but just for fun.

Those badges are still out there someplace.

Later, unidentified fraudsters intentionally made fake diamonds badges to sell to unsuspecting marks. The sales pitches could be quite elaborate and convincing, but then, all "cons" are convincing or they would not work. Greed on the part of the collector probably factored in also, who knows right now?

Since the fake examples used actual SB U-boat badges, it is easy to see in the days before Gordon Williamson published his book Torpedo Los and follow up analysis on this forum over the last 6 years or so, how easy it would be to make such a fake and convince a buyer that it was good. Meaning, you could show an untouched SB U-boat badge and an identical SB U-boat badge with the diamonds glued on.

The buyer would logically think that was how the award was made, without realizing it was an entirely different badge made by SB.

I have seen "high end" dealer(s) fall for this too in elaborate scams, so they were not exempt from the lack of real knowledge for the diamonds badges before this forum and others started looking at them critically.

John

[Terrence]

The late Bill Stump had one made for fun. I have pics someplace only old laptop. it was very well done. I wonder what ever happened today his many treasures

T