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R.K. Minesweeper Makers' Mark Variants

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    #46
    Hi Guys,

    It turns out there are two sub-types of the "Level 6" RK and I now call them the "high Level 6" and the "low Level 6". They are sufficiently alike that I didn't want to call them entirely different levels and I'll explain further.

    The first posting is the so-called "high Level 6" and for comparison the second posting is the "low Level 6" with the usual vertical die flaw. Both of these badges have the same 9-wave obverse design, the same finish and the same catch crimp and cast-in hinge on the reverse.

    On the "high Level 6" you can see that the vertical flaw absent The maker mark on this variant is very slightly higher than the ones with the vertical flaw (hence the term "high Level 6"). Correspondingly, the location of the hinge and catch crimp are also slightly higher. In fact, I think these two variants are likely from the same reverse die but after the crack occurred in the reverse die, it was positioned differently for the next run. The flaw must have occurred fairly early on the life of the die since the unflawed version is far less common than the flawed.

    Best regards,
    ---Norm
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      #47
      Here's a side-by-side comparison of the "high Level 6" and the "low Level 6" highlighting the small differences.

      Aside from the differences mentioned already, an obvious distinct feature distinguishing these two variants is that the eagle's shoulders are cut out on the unflawed version and left solid on the flawed version. All these differences justified adding a new variant to the Minesweeper Classification table, so they are now 3.1.7 "high Level 6" and 3.1.8 "low Level 6".

      Now there are 10 variants of RK Minesweeper - 3 Tombak and 7 zinc.

      Best regards,
      ---Norm
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        #48
        Thank's Norm
        Cheers,
        Hubert

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          #49
          Just to add another wrinkle. Hubert's "Level 6" badge with the vertical flaw has an even lower maker mark than mine, and his has cutouts around the eagle's head. So now we see a "high Level 6" without flaw, a "low Level 6" with flaw but no cutouts around the head, and a "very low Level 6" with flaw and cutouts.

          The question now is has anyone ever seen other RK badges without the cutouts other than a "Level 6"?

          Best regards,
          ---Norm
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