I don´t like it. The whole appearance doesn´t seem right at all, especially the Conrath signature. Brian R posted a HG citation the other day on one of my threads and the signature looks very different.
The signature does look a bit strange but I am away from home and looking at my phone. Additionally, the stamp is unreadable which is another bad sign. Lastly, this is a type 1 award document which was likely not being used by the division in late 1943. It would be interesting to find other HG EK2 documents from this time period to see the document type and signature in order to get a better sense. At this point, I am with Matthias and skeptical of this urkunde.
Lastly, this is a type 1 award document which was likely not being used by the division in late 1943.
That was my initial thought as well, but then I remembered that I had an EK2 citation of the same type issued in early January 1945 by the 212. VGD (see picture). So IMO it´s not impossible that the HG Division used this type of form as well in 1943.
But that doesn´t make this document any better for me, and Brian is right about the stamp.
There were certainly Type 1 documents used throughout the war. But, the document type should be considered in the context of the actual award - you typically will not see front line units - engaged in heavy fighting and, in turn, awarding many medals for bravery - using these early documents in late 1943. The Type 2 is surely more reasonable to expect. That said, many documents (and fakes) can be judged by reviewing multiple features and not just one. Overall, the more I look at this document the more I don’t like it and I think your initial skepticism of the signature is well founded.
While I have no "Conrath" signature to compare it to, it looks forced/like crap to me. Unless you can find similar known good examples, or it's only $10.00, stay away is my recommendation.
best
H
Unless it was nighttime, or the weather was bad, and you were running out of gas - then it was a sweaty nightmare, like a monkey f*ing a skunk.
~ Dan Hampton, Viper Pilot
I have finally had a chance to look at this on a regular screen. The link you posted shows a Type 1 document in use, and that is a good sign. Basically, everything looks good, but I am still wary of the signature. Here are two examples (the one you posted and a later one) and both signatures look similar and are in pencil. Signatures can vary and perhaps this is just an example of typical day to day changes. But, I just don't feel 100% about it and remain skeptical. I could certainly be wrong, but I would ask HG specialists to weigh in - collectors who know the unit and the types of document and signature variations that should be expected at various dates and during and after specific battles and campaigns.
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