Fake or not ? Luft badges help

[Mauser]

Dear fellow collectors

<O></O>I am a new member to the association and would like to say a harty greetings to you all. I am 21 and have been collecting 3<SUP>rd</SUP> Reich awards for over 3 years, how ever my knowledge is growing slowly and unfortunately I have been burnt due to my lack of knowledge in some areas

I have been saving a few pics of some pieces in my collection in which I am slightly nervous of, that I suspect to be fakes, but I would like a second opinion Please see the below pics of the badges that i think may be fake.
<O></O>
<O></O>I am honored to be apart of such an elite organization of crack collectors, and hope in time that i will be able to help green collectors like my self ,with the knowledge that i will gain here, in the constant war against the fakers !

<O></O>Kindest Regards

<O></O>Mark

[Mauser]

The first one Observers badge L12

Heres the first Luft badge.The rear of the eagle is marked L12 in a box, there is also a letter 3 stamped below the box in the center of the eagle but it is very faint.

[skip]

Hello Mark,

sorry to be the bearer of bad news but I fear that your Observer is a copy. Definatly not what I would expect a J1 or J2 observer to look like. Try doing a Forum search under "Juncker Observer", you will find a lot of material there.

Skip

[Mauser]

Heres the Next one, luft Pilots badge

The rear is marked SCHWERIN *****GB Only half of the makers mark is visable, the base metal of the wreath is Brass. Fake ?

[Philippe DB]

Hi Mark,


Skip is of course right, everything that could be wrong is wrong on this badge.

As a golden rule and easy to remember for any type of III Reich badge. Run like hell if you see the type of catch used on the badge you posted. This catch is typical for a lot of post war copies and a sure give away.

KR
Philippe

[Mauser]

Rear of pilots badge

heres the rear of my pilots

[skip]

Sorry Mark,

same again on this one. Schwerin is not a known manufacturer of Luft badges. Also a look at the abonable detail on this should be enough to tell you that it is not authentic.

Skip

[Philippe DB]

Hi Mark,


Same for the pilot badge, very crude copy.

An other rule, run like hell if you see a Schwerin marked Luftwaffe badge. Schwerin only produced Kriegsmarine badges.

KR
Philippe

[Mauser]

wow that was fast, What about these Fake ?

I skip / Phil

Many thanks for the speedy replie , im having a job keeping up with you uploading these pics. I though they were suss thanks for conferming this,i have a few more badges which i wouldent mind you looking at, ones a
high seas fleet war badge but i dont feel the catch is right same with the markers mark as its very faint in some areas. Also lack of detail to the front of the award.

Many thanks

Mark

[Mauser]

The rear of the HS badge

Heres the rear of it

[Mauser]

Markers mark up close

Makers Mark in some places its very faint

[Mauser]

Hing

Heres the hing

[Philippe DB]

Hi Mark,


Now that you know golden rule one (the catch), you can assess the badge yourself. It is indeed a copie.

KR
Philippe

[skip]

Yep, unfortunatly another one. Any badges that show such a block hinge that is hollow in the middle are copies. There are a range of very good Kriegsmarine badges with this feature that are nearly impossible to recognize on photos, some unscrupulous people also fill in this space with plastic metal or other substance and then colour it black as disguise, it is then very hard to see the hollow portion without a magnifying glass.

Skip

[Kecon]

Hi Mark

One thing to take note of on your observer badge is that semi-broad, semi round
pin. That type of wrap-around pin is widely used on many fake awards, encluding a lot of post war Souval types. When ever I see that type of pin, I
always run the other way. Be sure to take note of that for future reference.

Best regards
Ken