fo high seas fleet: marked catch

[Doug Kenwright]

picked up a nice fo marked high seas fleet badge,and noticed under high magnification,that there is a letter g or a no. 9 stamped onto the catch tiny,but there.has any one else noticed this,or have one the same?

[Doug Kenwright]

picked up a nice fo marked high seas fleet badge,and noticed under high magnification,that there is a letter g or a no. 9 stamped onto the catch tiny,but there.has any one else noticed this,or have one the same?

possibly a 6?

[Don D.]

Can you please show us the whole badge, front and back?
Thanks
Don

[Doug Kenwright]

Can you please show us the whole badge, front and back?
Thanks
Don

front..

[Doug Kenwright]

front..

back..nice scoop in back,slightly vaulted.and if you look way down on catch you can just see the mark in question,quite small..

[Mike Kenny]

Hi kurskss,

Ouch, but that looks like a casting from the images. The catch is certainly not right for an original Fo HSF.

Regards
Mike K

[Doug Kenwright]

Hi kurskss,

Ouch, but that looks like a casting from the images. The catch is certainly not right for an original Fo HSF.

Regards
Mike K

Mike,no casting, both the hinge and the catch are soldered on.see if i can post a pic of the two close up.even so,i believe that fo made hsf badges with cast hinges,but this isn't one of them the solder has been used to fill the ends of the hinge,really nicely done..it has a bronze finish which i will try to show through colour manipulation.

[Doug Kenwright]

Mike,no casting, both the hinge and the catch are soldered on.see if i can post a pic of the two close up.even so,i believe that fo made hsf badges with cast hinges,but this isn't one of them the solder has been used to fill the ends of the hinge,really nicely done..it has a bronze finish which i will try to show through colour manipulation.

sorry,i thought you meant hinges..if you are referring to the badge,no,it's not cast,you can see the shear marks and obvious signs of hand finishing.here is the catch..

[emaroli]

Maybe it is just the photos but I agree with Mike in that the badge does look cast.

~Ed Maroli

[Steve Richard]

Sorry Kursk,but this looks like a bad casting to me as well. Neither the hinge,nor the catch even vaguely resemble anything seen on an original fo badge.ALL f.o. Kriegsmarine badges were made of zinc,and from appearances this badge does not appear to be zinc either.For a few great photos of correct f.o. H.S.F. badges see Lorenzo's home page.He shows both the cast in ,and soldered on attatchments
Regards,
Steve

[Doug Kenwright]

sorry,i thought you meant hinges..if you are referring to the badge,no,it's not cast,you can see the shear marks and obvious signs of hand finishing.here is the catch..

here is the vaulted,scooped out back of the piece,again colour adjusted..where the finishing marks endon the lower right side is where the "scoop" or hollow that the logo is in begins.it is quite pronounced. the finish on the back is nickle silver perhaps,and that darkness is the tarnishing.it really is a quality badge when you hold it,nice and heavy,not a cheap cast feel at all.on the front,the waves are darkened and while a bit sloppy on the gold finish on the wreath,very high detail..i will try to provide pics of side of catch...

[Doug Kenwright]

here is the vaulted,scooped out back of the piece,again colour adjusted..where the finishing marks endon the lower right side is where the "scoop" or hollow that the logo is in begins.it is quite pronounced. the finish on the back is nickle silver perhaps,and that darkness is the tarnishing.it really is a quality badge when you hold it,nice and heavy,not a cheap cast feel at all.on the front,the waves are darkened and while a bit sloppy on the gold finish on the wreath,very high detail..i will try to provide pics of side of catch...

i will check out some of the images recc.on his site..i am not sure what this is yet,but it definately is not cast...maybe scanner?

[emaroli]

The more I look at it the more I do not like it. You describe the piece as 'nice and heavy'. So is a lead casting.
~Ed

[Thomas Durante]

Kurskss,

I agree with the others, this is a poor casting of an original Orth HSF. The marks on the reverse are typical of what fakers do to a cast badge to make it look original, to look worn, to knock off casting marks, and to give it character. I would bet that this badge could be bent easily if tried, looks to have some lead content.

A decent casting will pick up the shear marks from the original badge it is cast from. Also, look at the makers mark, very blurry and soft. Even original FO badges that were the cast kind have much more defined marks.

Hinge and catch, both very different than original Orth pieces.

Tom D.

[Don D.]

I was afraid it might be fake. That is why I asked for the pics. I didn't like that catch at all.
Don