Pilot Badge Opinions (.800)

[Gary B]

Hi Frank,

I understand Yuri's and Neils concerns, but, as pointed out this is not a J3 eagle. I don't know if it matches with any eagle or wreath I have seen. If one uses qualilty/finish as a discriminator this is a good piece. Since I have never seen another one like this (real or fantasy) I wonder why someone would produce 1 piece like this. Does anyone have a known repro with an identical eagle or wreath??

Thanks.

Gary B

[Yuri D.]

I don't see this badge being of that high quality. The feather details on the plain vanilla J3 that I posted have a great deal more detail. Yes the hardware is precisely applied on the "800" badge, but the badge itself looks like no known maker out there. So it drops into the "custom" category, and unless it comes with a grouping from the vet himself, I would not get it for my collection.

Yuri


It should also be tested for the 800 silver content.

[Gary B]

Dear Joe,

As requested, here are some more close up pictures.

[Gary B]

Wing Tip.

[Gary B]

Other wing tip.

[Gary B]

Wreath detail.

[Gary B]

800 reverse.

[Eric Stahlhut]

Sorry for intruding on this thread, but while this seems to be a very nice badge I would also recommend having it tested for silver content. Especially after viewing the latest closeups. I can't really observe any natural oxidation that would presumably occur on a badge made of .800 grade silver dating from the 40s. I may be wrong--perhaps there is an explanation for this...

[oldnewbie]

.800 silver Pilots badge

Hello to all, My first post.. Very interesting topic on the silver Pilots. I read it a few time but no real "ballpark" value given. Im just curious if this is out of reach for the novice collector? Thanks chris

[skip]

Wow! I totally missed this thread.

These are always interesting. Being the owner of the first J1 .800 shown on the forum I know the feeling when everybody says "beware". Luckily J1 .800s conform exactly to their buntmetal brothers.

Gary, its a truly interesting badge and nicely executed. I´m afraid you will never be able to authenticate it though. Purely the fact that it does not conform to a known maker is sufficiant for the majority to condem it.

I think the only condolence is that it was possibly a one off, jewellers copy, made for some eccentric Luftwaffen officer. If it was pre or post 45 we will probably never know.

@ Chris, welcome to the Forum.
Pilots badges are difficult at the best of times, especially with the new range of fakes on the market. Its better to start with known authentic badges, like the J3 from Yuri, than getting into the realms of .800 badges.

Skip

[Tim Calvert]

I also missed this thread.....for some reason the only pictures I can view are Yuri's!???

[Joseph D'Errico]

This thread is over a year old..............



Best,
Joe