Observers Badge - Opinions Guys

[ERIC S.]

Hello Fellas,
I picked this Observers Badge up today at the Springfield, Mass. show. It is unmarked but I believe it to be of Juncker manufacture. Would anyone else have a different opinion about the maker or can I be pretty confident it is a Juncker? I got it for $300, so I hope I made a good buy ( If it's a Juncker! )
Thanks All,
ERIC

[ERIC S.]

Backside

Here is the reverse:

[Jos L C]

Hello Eric,
Great find IMO,I believe it's a Juncker badge too.

Jos.

[Tony Barto]

Looks like a Juncker to me. Great find and great price!!

[Stijn David]

nice Observer

Hello Eric,


A nice find you have there my friend => looks quite ok IMHO , and this prooves that there are still some nice pieces out there for a relatively humble price


Cordial greetings,

[skip]

as Monty Python said "you lucky, lucky b......d".
No really, lovely piece, I paid $500 for mine(it is marked though).

skip

[ERIC S.]

Vielen Dank!

Thanks so much for all the replies!!! I was pretty confident it was Juncker before I posted, but you guys put the icing on the cake!!
Again Thanks - ERIC

[Jos L C]

Eric,
What about earning $5.00 without doing nothing ????
It's easy,just sell me the badge for $ 305.00...,Hwadujufinkadad ??

Jos.

[Frank Heukemes]

Guys,

I do not want to be the stinker here that doesn´t like this badge but I have an honest question and need some education:

There seems to be some differences between this (tombak) Juncker and the nickelsilver Junckers, such as:

-hinge is normally longer and narrower than Eric´s
-eagle seems to be normally more detailed
-eagle finish is different

Can somebody explain why this is the case? I have to be honest and this remark is probably very stupid, but just from the pics Eric has posted, I would have passed on that badge, not liking:

-the patina, which looks strange to me especially around the catch
-the hinge (to short and stubby)
-eagle finish & detail

Would some of you educated Luftwaffe collectors please elaborate on the differences some more and why these differences are still good? I posted a pic of a Juncker (from Detlev) that is different in the aspects I mentioned. I lack a better picture.

Cheers, Frank H.

[Luftm40]

The unmarked badge may actually be an IMME. I am very certain these two Berlin firms shared dies for certain badges. The construction, hinge etc look a bit like an IMME pilot badge

[spectre]

Hi Eric,

Now that Andy brings up the IMME maker I would tend to agree with him. At first I thought this may have been a Deumer badge with the small rings in the wreath around the rivets but I see that characteristic on IMME badges as well. I have not seen a Juncker badge with those rings around the rivets before. The hinge is also more similar to a IMME than Deumer, their's being a little wider. Just my thoughts.

Alan

[ERIC S.]

A New Player...

O.K. - Now I believe we have another possibility - IMME - I too believe IMME and Juncker shared parts, so this possibility is valid to me. When I saw it I said to myself " JUNCKER " right away because I thought the eagle definitely looked similar to some marked Juncker ones I've seen. As for finish and detail to the eagle, I would assume the tombak version is a wartime version and the nickle silver version would be of pre-war manufacture, correct me if I'm wrong here. So, IMO, the nickle ones should have the better detailed and finished eagle. The hinge I agree doesn't look like the typical Juncker type, more like the IMME type.
Alan, thanks for your opinions also, but I tend to disagree with you on the Juncker rings around the rivit issue. I have seen a few Pilots badges that have this characteristic, maybe someone else can back me up on this. So, we have a little IMME and a little Juncker mixed together here on my badge. Hmmmm?? Anyone else like to add something to the mix??
ERIC
Hey Jos,
Sure, $305 for doing nothing, I'll bite!! Just add $150 for s/h and we'll get the ball rolling!!!

[Joseph D'Errico]

Hi Eric, I have a question on this piece, does the beak on the eagle have a slight imperfection or is that just the scan; also I was curious about the leg on the right side of the obverse. Is the lack in detail a result of the scan as well? I'm curious for my own reference. I think the pin is consistent with an early variation Junkers. As Frank said "it is a little short", but the piece looks good to me considering the the aspects. I have a first pattern Combined/Pilots Observer badge unmarked Junkers and I can see some similarities in the eagle and wreath details, also the hinge on this piece is consistent with the Junkers first pattern. In addition, the color looks washed out?, is the pic you posted true to the color or is that from the scanner, or because of the medal composite ( nickle alloy vs tomback)? I ask only for my own referance. Check out Lorenzo Brown's site, he has some very good examples although his are tomback. Is it possible to get a pic of the catch?
All the Best
JD

[Lorenzo Brown]

Here are some comparison scans. Hope they're not too big.
Obverse

[Lorenzo Brown]

Reverse