Honor roll clasp Kriegsmarine for review

[Paukenschlag]

This one was offered to me. Totally not my field of expertise...
Real?

[andrewb]

This type of KM clasps are not accepted as original.

Regards,
AB.

[Thomas E Hansen]

Not Original. Sorry.

[AndyC]

I have to agree, this is not a wartime made clasp.



Andy

[Norm F]

Even with the poor photo of only the obverse, a side-by-side comparison with an original easily shows the difference.

Best regards,
---Norm

[BubbaZ]

I also agree, this clasp is doubtless fake
Cheers,
Hubert

[John R.]

And when the seller does not send you images of the reverse pins, that is a red flag.

John

[Paukenschlag]

Seller is an elder guy who collected in the 80's and 90's...
I'm visiting him this week and shall take some pics of the back together with the other awards he has.
But thanks for all the info

[NOR_collector]

I have had a few of these over the years and the one that the elder guy is offering you is not original.

Regards,
André

[John R.]

Seller is an elder guy who collected in the 80's and 90's...
I'm visiting him this week and shall take some pics of the back together with the other awards he has.
But thanks for all the info

80's and 90's were very dangerous times for collectors (in general). Tell me about it, nearly everything I bought then was a fake.

For a few, those were the best days to collect and by sheer volume of purchases since the cost was relatively low they ended up today with a great collection even after getting rid of the fakes.

John

[John R.]

Think about the fakes sold at gun shows then, Shotgun News, motel buys (meaning the motel guy bought period items for cheap and sold fakes to the unwitting--and I say this in general since some motel sellers had decent stuff but how would you know back then?).

Only after the advent of this forum, subsequent scholarly books, or at least books that made logical presentations of what the authors thought of being period or not, but mainly this forum and some other forums too by members posting tens of thousands of badges could any sense be made of the hobby.

As this forum developed I did not post my items even then, I lurked. As I lurked, I quickly saw that the badges I owned did not match those accepted at that time and it irritated me so much that I decided to either quit the hobby or learn it.

Others have taken it to great heights since those early days and those early researchers and collectors who lay the invaluable groundwork, people like Lorenzo, Mike Kenny, Jeff V, Frank and yes, even dealers that realized they had been duped also and started to be far more discriminating in what they bought and what they listed on internet sales platforms.

Yes, bottom feeder "dealers", and I say it loosely since I do not consider them really dealers, still exist and set up their crummy tables year after year. But, they are aging, few like them replacing their seats as they die off.

So today, a far more enjoyable and safe hobby for badge collectors.

My take.

John

[swjXE]

Think about the fakes sold at gun shows then, Shotgun News, motel buys (meaning the motel guy bought period items for cheap and sold fakes to the unwitting--and I say this in general since some motel sellers had decent stuff but how would you know back then?).

Only after the advent of this forum, subsequent scholarly books, or at least books that made logical presentations of what the authors thought of being period or not, but mainly this forum and some other forums too by members posting tens of thousands of badges could any sense be made of the hobby.

As this forum developed I did not post my items even then, I lurked. As I lurked, I quickly saw that the badges I owned did not match those accepted at that time and it irritated me so much that I decided to either quit the hobby or learn it.

Others have taken it to great heights since those early days and those early researchers and collectors who lay the invaluable groundwork, people like Lorenzo, Mike Kenny, Jeff V, Frank and yes, even dealers that realized they had been duped also and started to be far more discriminating in what they bought and what they listed on internet sales platforms.

Yes, bottom feeder "dealers", and I say it loosely since I do not consider them really dealers, still exist and set up their crummy tables year after year. But, they are aging, few like them replacing their seats as they die off.

So today, a far more enjoyable and safe hobby for badge collectors.

My take.

John

Well said John!
I was one that started years ago when most fakes were really bad and felt I had to drop out when I couldn't keep up with being able to spot the fakes any more.
Thanks to this forum and the membership , I'm back in it and having more fun than ever.