Wide Pin Souval HSF Opinions

[Dave Wyatt]

Hey guys, I wanted to get some input as to the consensus on these Souval HSF. I've always liked the wide pin Souvals with fat maker marks. But there seems to be debate with some. Thanks for looking.

[Dave Wyatt]

Reverse

[Norm F]

Hi Dave,

I don't think you'll get a 100% consensus. Some think they're wartime and others think they're post-war finished leftovers.

I certainly lean towards the latter; I've never been keen on the sharp corners on the hinge flanges, seen more frequently on post-war hardware used by Souval (albeit paired with a round-wire main pin).

Here's a previous thread on these:
http://dev.wehrmacht-awards.com/foru...d.php?t=660458

They're certainly of interest to collectors of Souval badges or variant collectors, but not to someone who wants one good award piece in their collection.

Best regards,
---Norm

[Norm F]

I've always liked the wide pin Souvals with fat maker marks.

I should add that as far as I know, the maker mark is the same on all "wartime compatible" Souval Fleet badges. The planchet itself shows no clues to suggest whether wartime or post-war, so we're left musing over the hardware and the finish.

Best regards,
---Norm

[Norm F]

Just realized I had some photos on file of the very same badge, not sure from where?

[Norm F]

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[Norm F]

I've never been keen on the sharp corners on the hinge flanges, seen more frequently on post-war hardware used by Souval (albeit paired with a round-wire main pin).

Just to be clear, I'm not saying I've seen that type of hinge on a known post-war badge, only that I haven't seen this unusual sharp-cornered hinge on known wartime badges as of this writing.

Best regards,
---Norm

[Dave Wyatt]

Wide Pin Souval HSF Opinions

Thank you Norm! Your in depth analysis is excellent as always. Much appreciated! I don't know where the badge came from as it's actually a friend of mine who owns it. But he's looking to move it on and wanted some better input as to the origin of these wide pins. For me, when it comes to the fat lettered, wide pin types of IAB and PAB I've always been comfortable with them.

[Norm F]

For me, when it comes to the fat lettered, wide pin types of IAB and PAB I've always been comfortable with them.

Yes, but it may be important to note that the sheet metal hinges with rounded flanges on the IAB and PAB are different from the Fleet badge hinges.

Best regards,
---Norm

[Norm F]

Here's an interesting comparison between a wide-pin Souval Fleet on the left and a known post-war Souval on the right. The similarity in the finish is striking. It may be subjective, but to me this suggests the wide-pin is a post-war assembled and finished badge before they ran out of marked planchets (or could no longer use their original tooling) and had to resort to new production.