U-Boot Frontspange from Holland ..

[Winkelman]

I wanted to share this Bronze U-Boot Frontspange , IMHO the best item from a nice small Dutch collection that just turned up ( but did contain 1 Flakbadge repro ) - all comments welcome ..

[Winkelman]

2.

[Winkelman]

Reverse 1.

[Winkelman]

Reverse 2.

[Winkelman]

Reverse 3. - I think the small " c " in ScHWERIN should be a good sign here .. ?

[AndyC]

Winkelman well i dont think this is a 100% clasp, i dont like the needle and some details.
Wait for more inputs, i,ll could be wrong


Andy

[JAndrew]

I can see where Andy is concerned about the pin and to my eyes some of the detail is a little soft such as the eagle's head and claws, but that could very well be the photographic technique. I have seen very few of what some call the interim style badge or the second badge with flat wire catch rather than round wire so I am not sure if these are expected differences. My understanding is that the same dies were used for the award just different catch material. I think some shots from the side would be a big help to me here. A few years ago I would have given this one the benefit of the doubt but the fakers have really stepped up their game on these awards so I am much more skeptical of even small differences than I used to be.
Regards,
JAndrew

[Winkelman]

Gentlemen , thank you for your replies so far .. !
From what I've found on reference material sofar , I thought there would be no doubt , but better safe than sorry . A good thing would be , that the former owner bought this some 20 years ago , so it would not be a recent high-tech one .

As for the PIN , I've made a sideways picture - please note that the short end has been forced onto the long part , leaving no tension when closing . And a dangerous crack , I now notice .
Hope this helps ..

[Winkelman]

Lack of detail to the eagles head was indeed due to lack of my " photographic techniques " - it does have a tiny eye & beak , not visible on previous picture ..

[Winkelman]

Some more - I really should have made a better effort before ..

[Winkelman]

Zinc underneath lacquer ..

[Winkelman]

No tension when closing , due to crack in short end .
I should mention that the pin is MAGNETIC , the badge itself ( of course ) is not
..

[Winkelman]

...

[Winkelman]

More acorns ..

[JAndrew]

Thank you for the extra photos. I feel better about this one now. I would give it a thumbs up but as Andy said, wait for a few more opinions.
JAndrew