GH Osang Luftwaffe Air Gunner / Flight Engineer Badge 1942-45

[Diane]

This is a very well made and die struck badge.



The Eagle is a seperate piece, riveted to the wreath. (Note the exploded rivets)



Maker marked GH Osang DRESDEN

[skip]

Hi Diana,

for me this looks like a repop. I´ll tell you why.

The eagle is optically mounted to high on the wreath
The design of the eagle looks suspicious and weak (better pics would help)
GH Osang is not a known maker of the AG/RO badge
The hinge would appear to be of the thick walled variety that is commonly found on fakes.(thats why I asked for pics from an angle)
Lack of hand finishing around the wreath.

All just my opinions mind you. Maybe somebody else sees it different.

Sorry but with this and your AC its starting to look as if you could have a few copies in your collection. Are these all from one dealer?

Skip

[David R.]

HI Diane,I also think the badge my be a repo. I got poped on two of these some time ago. what I don't like is the pin,hinge,and catch are made from the same white medal as the wreath, you will find this badge and ones with lighting bolts with a hole list of makers on them.This is just IMHO. I'm sure Joe or another more experienced member will advise you on this. IMO not for my collection
David R.

[Frank Heukemes]

Skip and David are right, a known fake. It is this one:

[Frank Heukemes]

reverse

[Frank Heukemes]

As Skip pointed out already, there is NO known original by Osang of that kind of badge.

[Diane]

GH OSANG - Dresden

OSANG was a major manufacturer of III Reich medals and badges.

How can we say definitively that they NEVER made this class or type badge? Does anyone have any primary source material to substantiate this?

<!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <o =""></o>Primary source material would be described as period correspondence, catalogs, and photographs, etc.

Surely we haven’t had the opportunity to examine every badge in every collection from North America to Europe.

Although the authenticity of the badge in question may be debatable, we should NOT say GH Osang NEVER made these types of badges until we have examined as much of the primary source material as possible and done a thorough sampling of collections worldwide.

[Frank Heukemes]

That is why I said there is no KNOWN badge of this kind by Osang.

That is why Skip said GH Osang is not a known maker of the AG/RO badge.

Nobody in this thread said Osang NEVER made these badges, ok?

[Mark S.]

As much as we would love to have shipping invoices and stock inventory lists to pour through, our primary resource material is often what is found in collections that were originally sourced directly from the German veteran themselves.

Something else you need to understand that GH Osang fakes have been around for years. There was a time when Osang marked badges were regarded as a pariah of sorts, many collectors wouldnt touch them. This even affected the badges that Osang are known to manufacture, such as flying clasps.

Luckily, through modern ways of spreading information, we are able to better understand what is real, and what isnt. Gone are the days of gun show logic, with beer bellied dealers telling you what is real and what isnt. We have real collectors with outstanding collections to compare to, and as far as I am aware, none of these have known real GH Osang airgunner badges in them.

It is tough to digest that a precious item in your collection may not be what it seems. It is even tougher for some of us to digest that any maker made "one off" badges, or made the same badge with different wreath and different eagles everytime. Some people might want to argue this point, but when you compare manufacturing techniques that every other badge maker used, and the badge in your hand defies that, you really have to step back and reconsider.

[David R.]

Hi are some photos of the two fake ones I have

as you can see they have them unmarked and marked (even the makers mark is correct!)

[David R.]

more

[David R.]

only two more !

[David R.]

I hope this helps,Use these for a photo file on fakes!

[Diane]

GH Osang Images

Hello,

The images posted here are very informative.

I do not own this badge, nor is it for sale by me. I am researching this for a friend.

Has anyone ever thought of compiling a list of manufactureres and the badges they made?

I collect original (or reprint) Insignia / Medal / Badge manufacturers catalogs. Has anyone ever seen such a Catalog for GH Osang? I am also looking for literature from G. Brehmer.

Thanks for your contributions.

Sincerely,

Diane