U Boat Badge

[Alfie McAleer]

Guys, need a valuation for this badge, had it damaged at an auction house, the hook was knocked off and lost. I need opinions on valuation of badge in full condition. Lost original purchase price when my hard drive crashed.
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[Norm F]

There are three previous threads on this same badge from 2010. Here is one thread which contains links to the other two:
http://wehrmacht-awards.com/forums/s...30#post4248130

There was some some discussion at the time regarding whether it had been refinished but with no conclusion at that time.

In retrospect, my personal opinion is that the catch had already been repaired and the badge refinished, which I will attempt to explain in a subsequent post.

Best regards,
---Norm

[Norm F]

In this comparison, on the top you see three typical catch attachments for this type of f.o. U-Boat, and at the bottom are what photos exist of the catch formerly on the badge in question.

You can see that the catches on this variant are soldered within a round recess in the reverse, and the original gilding adheres well to the period solder such that it persists long after the rest of the gilding has faded from the zinc reverse.

In contrast, on the badge in question, the area around the catch which should show original gilding instead is black and lacking in finish. To me, this is a sign the catch had already come off at some point and been reattached.

Not what you wanted to hear I suppose since it devalues the badge, but it's still an original.

Best regards,
---Norm

[Norm F]

Compared to an untouched example, it looks like the maker mark was abraded and damaged, possibly by the surface preparation before refinishing.

[Norm F]

Two more of the same variant. No matter the state of wear, the "f.o." mark looks crisp.

[BubbaZ]

I agree with Norm's comment.
Here is one that I used to have.
Cheers,
Hubert

[Alfie McAleer]

Thanks, I can’t argue with your reasoning it’s very sound. The question is, what would it be worth in its original condition.