S-Boat War Badge with Diamonds

[Leroy]

Other than Nimmergut, are there any measurements available for this type badge?

On a side note, these badges appear to have curved wings, with the latest seeming to have slightly more curvature than the others. I thought that curved wings had been attributed in the past to hand bending of the badge itself, but these appear to be totally flat.

[Norm F]

Other than Nimmergut, are there any measurements available for this type badge?

On a side note, these badges appear to have curved wings, with the latest seeming to have slightly more curvature than the others. I thought that curved wings had been attributed in the past to hand bending of the badge itself, but these appear to be totally flat.

Hi Gentry,

1) So far we only have the Nimmergut measurements for the Töniges (although that's a pretty good reference). The Thies auction listing doesn't specify the measurements for the Feldt badge.

2) I agree that the wings are curved downward on these diamonds badges more than on the regular zinc S-Boat badge. Personally, I believe the obverse die has straight wings and that the malleable silver metal and hand working (perhaps when still warm) results in the wings being bent downwards, whether intentionally or unintentionally. When you see all four of the diamonds badges in this thread together, you can see that the degree of curvature differs between them, and sometimes there is some visible distortion from some buckling of the silver in the "armpits" under the wings.

Best regards,
---Norm

[Leroy]

Thanks, Norm.

Are these die-struck or cast?

[Norm F]

Are these die-struck or cast?

I was wondering the same thing. The auction site shows some great closeups which I've been puzzling over. The edges are hand cut and polished so it's hard to see definitive shear lines versus file marks. On some views of the margins there are some sharp-edged pits and flaws that I think could be explained by abrasive polishing and fracture lines. The crispness of the obverse detail favours die struck I think and that's the way I lean, but it's hard to be absolutely certain. Since Schwerin already had the dies for their regular S-Boat and U-Boat badges it would seem to make sense that they would whack out the silver versions using the same method.

Best regards,
---Norm

[Leroy]

Thanks again, Norm. I can't tell for sure, either. I am still wondering seriously about the wing curvature. I doubt hand-finishing could do this much, even with working with still warm metal. On the other hand, the detail is impressive.

[Norm F]

For what it's worth, a comparison of a standard zinc Schwerin with straight wings compared to the droopy silver version.