Ball hinge flak eagle variant?

[Rik]

Just got this one in and took some quick shots with my phone.
I like the looks of it but I'm a little bit confused. The eagle isn't what I would expect with the ball hinge hardware .

What do you think?

[Nick Carraway]

Fake eagle or Frankenstein based on the Hobacher/Wiedmann design. Would think it was a Frankenstein but these eagles should only be found in zinc. Curious combo. There is a similar zinc Frankenstein in the flak book. Reverse pinholes point to casting.

[Neusilber]

Fake!

[Thomas Durante]

My vote would be fake as well......or a fake cast eagle on a good "ball hinge" wreath.

Tom

[fdodge]

Is this a neusilber wreath with a round wire catch? The eagle is wrong for this setup, but I see nothing wrong with all other aspects. But I also have a hard time telling zinc from ns with this maker sometimes. Most all ns badges of this type have the common wide catch and the round wire catch is common for zinc. I'd love to find a ns ball hinge flak with the round wire catch. With the correct eagle of course.....

[Neusilber]

Good points guys. I guess I just got scared with that eagle

[Rik]

It's not a zinc badge and I believe you're correct with the neusilber.
I compared the wreath to some other flak badges and I believe the wreath is a 100% original match with other zinc originals.

Got this badge with some other medals and a pair of Luftwaffe artillery shoulderboards all belonging together. This is why I don't want to dismiss it as a fake right away. The eagle looks like it has always been on the badge and the details on the eagle don't look "soft" to me. I cannot explain the little holes on the back of the eagle, it is in most cases an indicator for casting.

I will search the forum to compare some more "frankenstein" badges and make a comparison.

I will remove the images above and post some new camera shots this weekend.