The only negative I see on Patricks badge is that its surface appears to be a bit more porous in nature, which you can see pretty well on the swastika compares.
Also interesting is that the badge doesn't appear to have typical shear marks on the edges. Instead, there are deep grooves at different angles, presumably from a file. But they are deeper than normal file marks giving me the impression they were part of the die. They are in deep crevices and nooks of the edge where it would be hard for a file to reach by someone trying to debur it after construction.
These two factors give me the impression that the badge is cast rather than die struck. Not necessarily a bad thing as we certainly know of wartime badges that were die cast rather than die struck in the typical fashion (GWL CCCs, Assmann IABs & GABs, etc.).
My gut feeling, the badge just doesn't have a "wartime production" feel to it. The quality of the base metal is too good, as well as the finish, just does't strike me as wartime. The reverse hardware is also good quality, but its bulky size just doesn't give me the sense of wartime production. These traits were immediately noticeable when I opened up the packaged and handled this badge.
Maybe a prototype, a sample some firm submitted to produce the Luft Flak during the war, but never made it to mass production? Certainly possible, and would explain why it was cast since that is the cheaper way to make a sample instead of producing a die striking tool set.
I really want to thank Patrick for allowing me to study this badge in hand, always very generous with his time and collection in the search for answers in this hobby.
Tom
Also interesting is that the badge doesn't appear to have typical shear marks on the edges. Instead, there are deep grooves at different angles, presumably from a file. But they are deeper than normal file marks giving me the impression they were part of the die. They are in deep crevices and nooks of the edge where it would be hard for a file to reach by someone trying to debur it after construction.
These two factors give me the impression that the badge is cast rather than die struck. Not necessarily a bad thing as we certainly know of wartime badges that were die cast rather than die struck in the typical fashion (GWL CCCs, Assmann IABs & GABs, etc.).
My gut feeling, the badge just doesn't have a "wartime production" feel to it. The quality of the base metal is too good, as well as the finish, just does't strike me as wartime. The reverse hardware is also good quality, but its bulky size just doesn't give me the sense of wartime production. These traits were immediately noticeable when I opened up the packaged and handled this badge.
Maybe a prototype, a sample some firm submitted to produce the Luft Flak during the war, but never made it to mass production? Certainly possible, and would explain why it was cast since that is the cheaper way to make a sample instead of producing a die striking tool set.
I really want to thank Patrick for allowing me to study this badge in hand, always very generous with his time and collection in the search for answers in this hobby.
Tom
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