Unusual Luft Ground Assualt by M.u.K.5

[Steve Mezey]

Great Badge

Great Badge Jody
I would have no problem owning a badge such as yours. Perhaps an earlier made one because of the more pronounced "5". I like it. I can see where the others are going with textbook because of resale implications (Dealers Dilemma) but you have the family history behind it and probably wouldn't sell it anyways.

Steve

[Jody]

Luft GAB

Hello Guys,
No the badge is not for sale. I have owned it since 1971 and has been in the family since WWII. Like I said, my grandmother kept it in her sewing box.

Here it is displayed along with the more typical M.u.K.5 eagle (also in my collection).

Regards,
Jody

[Eddie]

Hi Jody,

what a nice example you have and history behind it,IMO much better eagle than more common one,more realistic and better detailed

[Thomas Durante]

Hi guys,

This is a very interesting badge that I also was able to handle at the SOS this past weekend. I can say for certain that the reverse setup, finish and base metal are identical to original MuK 5 LGABs. I would consider it a textbook badge, but the only difference I could find was the eagle. Even though its not a typical MuK eagle, it appears to be a perfect fit to the wreath (both on Jody's badge as well as the one I handled this weekend). Furthermore, I could see absolutely no sign of the rivets being messed with and therefore came to the conclusion that the eagle was not a replacement IMO.

Why it has an S&L eagle on it is really a mystery here. As was mentioned, this eagle is found on lots of questionable badges and definite postwar fakes, which is the reason why I didn't buy the badge this weekend and why my friend decided not to purchase it either. With Jody's excellent provenance, looks like we all could very well have passed on a fine, original wartime badge by the looks of it.

Here are a few fakes and/or "questionable" badges with this same type of eagle for comparison

Tom

[Thomas Durante]

Here is an RK-marked LGAB, which I am quite certain is a fake.

[Thomas Durante]

Another questionable example. Also has the very questionable "round O" Osang mark, but that could have been applied postwar.

Tom

[mmiller]

Hi Jody,

It's a fake. It's a fake. It's a fake!!!



Only kidding, of course! The provenance and lineage, along with the original acquisition timeline, to me, are a certificate of authenticity. I agree with Frank's comments ..... the pronounced '5' certainly could indicate an earlier 'strike', while the die was still 'fresh'.

Interestingly enough, the eagles on the 'questionable' and fake examples Tom provides, while similar in design, do not show the 'depth and detail' that your good example shows.

As with all your collection, no doubt in my mind.

Looks like neither of us made it to the SOS. I know I would have only spent $$$, so avoided the dare and stayed home.

All the Best,
Mark

[John T]

Another questionable example. Also has the very questionable "round O" Osang mark, but that could have been applied postwar.

Tom

Tom, I wish I had seen you on Sunday at the SOS...I am sure you were long gone as there was one that looked good but the eagle was different and I would have liked for you to have seen it for your views. I am not sure if they have any good "hero" fakes of these so I passed on it, but everything else on it appeared okay but the "5" was weak as opposed to the strong "5" on Jody's...

John

[Jody]

Luft GAB

Hello,
Yes Mark, no SOS for me either. If you look at the beak of my eagle it is different then the beak on the eagles posted by Tom. My eagle beak does not have has much of a curve to it. My eagle appears to have a nickle finish to it as well.

Regards,
Jody

[Blued]

Tom, I wish I had seen you on Sunday at the SOS...I am sure you were long gone as there was one that looked good but the eagle was different and I would have liked for you to have seen it for your views. I am not sure if they have any good "hero" fakes of these so I passed on it, but everything else on it appeared okay but the "5" was weak as opposed to the strong "5" on Jody's...

John

In terms of the 5, I have seen many originals with a weak 5 strike

[John T]

In terms of the 5, I have seen many originals with a weak 5 strike

Chad, good seeing you at the show, I agree the majority probably have weak "5" strikes. I should have picked up the one with the variant eagle

[Blued]

Chad, good seeing you at the show, I agree the majority probably have weak "5" strikes. I should have picked up the one with the variant eagle

Good seeing you too mate.

Well, I think the question isn't really about the wreath. I saw the one at the SoS as well. The wreath and hardware is just spot on. The real question is what is up with the eagle

[Thomas Durante]

Hi guys,

John, you probably saw the one at the SOS that Chad and I were looking at. It had a very weak 5 on it, unlike Jody's. But like Chad says, most MuK 5s (with textbook eagle) have a weak 5 on them.

Good to see you at the show. You are right, I left on Saturday around noon.

Tom

[fdodge]

Chad, good seeing you at the show, I agree the majority probably have weak "5" strikes. I should have picked up the one with the variant eagle

Were the "5's" always weak? Or is it attributed to die wear I wonder?

Frank

[Jody]

Luft GAB

Were the "5's" always weak? Or is it attributed to die wear I wonder?

Frank

Hi Frank,
It will vary. Look at the textbook M.u.K.5 GAB that I posted (alongside the vet example in thread #17). You can see that the 5 is not that weak. I have owned some examples where the 5 can hardly be seen.

I feel it is die wear.

Regards,
Jody