U-Boat Bronze Clasp - opinion please

[GMac]

Love the look and the feel of this clasp. You'd want it to be real. Again just bought at auction. What do you think ?

[Norm F]

Hi GMac,

That’s the “goon” fake unfortunately. More here:
http://dev.wehrmacht-awards.com/foru...d.php?t=907984

Best regards,
—-Norm

[AndyC]

Not a good one, sorry




Andy

[GMac]

Thanks Norm and Andy. Finding a real badge must be a rare event these days given the no of fakes. Caveat emptor and all that. I will hang onto it as i like the quality/feel of it and it creates an interesting talking point when friends come around.

[BubbaZ]

I agree, a fake.
To tell the truth it is quite easy to find original KM badges provided you know what you are buying or post them here for opinion before paying.
Cheers,
Hubert

[John R.]

Thanks Norm and Andy. Finding a real badge must be a rare event these days given the no of fakes. Caveat emptor and all that. I will hang onto it as i like the quality/feel of it and it creates an interesting talking point when friends come around.

I think that since the advent of the various TR forums (for badge collecting) that the number of fakes have gone down and the ability to buy original pieces has gone up due to the quick reference of simply posting a badge for consideration.

Plus great reference books being sold, the ability to make friends here that you can meet at militaria shows perhaps, the database here on WAF. All makes it much harder for the fakers in spite of the dire forecasts of super fakes made by computer generated mold machines and the like. Not like you are trying to copy a coin for example.

This compared to the good old days of "Shotgun News", motel buys and sells, and the hundreds of dealers set up at gun shows across the US with racks of fakes taking advantage of on the buy side of old veterans and their families and on the sell side taking advantage of collectors that had no reference material at all.

Not all dealers of course, but a lot of them. Fortunately, I think a lot of those ancient dealers have pretty much disappeared. I hope so anyway.

I think it is a lot harder now to get away with it. I also think that the apparent reduction of the number of collectors coming into the hobby makes it a lot easier for those that want to enter the hobby or remain in the hobby to buy original period pieces.

John

[GMac]

Well when you put it like that John I couldn't disagree. Knowledge is power. I've already learnt to go thru this site in future.