bullion p/o

[aoliveira]

hello i recently bought a small pre-war luftwaffe collection in which everything was in imaculate condition; i'll post the other pieces in later threads. this piece nobody seems to like, just because " it is too nice". and not much info on bullion badges is available. your opinions please.
thank you in advance
Tony

[Tony A]

I like the visual effect of this badge, however that is no guarantee of originality.

Cloth badges are very difficult to give opinions on because there are so many variations - and so many fakes. They are infinitely more easy to fake than metal - and even the metal badges are getting better and better.

With cloth you are down the overall 'feel' of the badge and whether as the owner or potential buyer you like it yourself. If you don't for ANY reason that is your answer.

My own view on this one is that the front is very striking but the rear looks almost brand new which raises concerns, particularly as it is white and shows no ageing. Generally with the 'bird' badges I look for detail in the eagle head and body in addition to the wings, and this one doesn't have that sharpness for me so I wouldn't buy it.

Tony A.

[Lubo]

Despite the good look of it, you'll have hard time reselling this piece, if you decide to do so one day!
KR
Lubo

[mdj]

did you blacklight it?

Try to remove something on the backing and look for some stichting.

martin

[aoliveira]

thank you guys for your comments and opinions. i also would come to the same conclusions as to the lack of aging; this piece just looks too clean and too new looking. had i seen just this piece i would have just passed it by. however it came in a group and almost all the pieces were in the newest and cleanest condition i had ever seen, all conected to a luftwaffe pilot officer. the previous owner collected commonwealth militaria mainly. these were the only third reich pieces he had and they all came together, i'm trying to trace the ownership trail but this will take awhile. the only thing that gives me a little doubt that it is a fake is circumstancial, only if i can find a similar badge on a tunic with the age and iron clad provinance, then i can say this is authentic. and yes martin i did blacklight it. i bent the bullion to check inside, and on the back is a small tear and also bent it too check inside, all tested negative; no glow. anways here are the other pieces that came along with the badge, feel free to comment.
thank you all
tony

[aoliveira]

these cases at first i thought were repro. too clean too new looking and i have never seen this material used on the outside of a case before. then i saw similar cases in Stephen Previera's luftwaffe badge book. they are textbook authentic early cases.

[aoliveira]

the badges now, the photos don't do them justice. the p/o looks to have been worn, the observer is stone cold mint; looks never to have been worn.

[aoliveira]

the backs. i found a better camera for this group of photos. thank you all for looking.
tony

[Militaria-Berlin]

Wow!!

Killer 1st pat PO and Observer and that PO case is really a hard one to find. Great examples.

MB

[Thomas Durante]

I can only agree, very nice early pieces with some great cases too! Very nice Tony.

Tom

[AndyC]

You have a very nice finds here, not often seen those early badges


Andy

[Ludwig]

Excellent badges, belt and eagle. The bullion P/O I don´t like and that has nothing to do with the "lack of ageing". Stored under certain conditions, a badge can look brand new and be 65 years old.

[Rich G]

I have to say that the bullion badge, standing on it's own, I would have passed on. Given what else it came with it's probably original. What I don't like about it is it seems to completely lack the eagles head and the white backing I've not seen before myself. Maybe it is a foreign made example? It appears to have been stitched to something at one point in time.

Rich