Police 8 Year Medals "variants?"

[Rommel1933]

Hello all... I am posting two new 8 year police medals..

I noticed that they have some variation. One the one to your left the swastika is much thicker. However, on the reverse the lettering and number 8 is much thicker on the one on the right.

Does anyone know if these two variations existed?

Thank you,
Scott

[Tom Yanacek]

Hi Scott,

I really like the one on the right, but I am leery of the one on the left. Everything about that one looks odd to me. I realize that we should expect to see some minor differences on these medals, if made by different makers with different dies. But I have never seen one so radically different looking before. The size and shape of the wreath, the eagle, the size of the swastika, the number '8', and the size and spacing of the lettering on the reverse all look so different from what I am accustomed to seeing on originals. I have also never seen such a large suspension ring on a Police 8-Year Medal. (Maybe that's just a replacement though.)

I am not really sure what to think here. Maybe both are real and the one on the left is just a variation I have never seen before. The medal on the left does have an overall believable look about it and even the patina seems natural. Very interesting to say the least. I hope others will respond and offer their opinions. IMO, the one on the right is unquestionably original and I am uncomfortably unsure about the one on the left.

Best regards,
Tom

[tranchant]

polizei

hello
i agree with tom ,no problem on the right good medal, for the other i have never see one like this! but i have a good feeling very good quality for me a rare variant; the suspension ring is big yes, but i think that i buy this medal for my collection!
best regards
patrick

[Patrick W]

Your variant is a post war medal made by Souval- the design is very distinctive. The loop would have been marked L/58 but is an easy piece to replace....

[Rommel1933]

Very interesting point Tom and both Patrick's!

I believe this could be a post war Souval based on this comparision. I took this pic from this post below and attribute it to USER ID "dcdefend" I hope I do not break any rule by posting this here for comparision. If you go to this link it appears that Souval only made police medals post war. If you look at these two pics they certainly have the "thicker" swastika and thinner "8" as well as the same font and spacing around the reverse lettering.

http://dev.wehrmacht-awards.com/foru...d.php?t=501539

Thank you,
Scott

These are the pics in that post.. Certainly looks like my medal above!

[Tom Yanacek]

Hi Scott,

Very interesting! Does your medal have an 'L/58' marking on the suspension ring? Maybe that's why your suspension ring is so large of diameter: Someone removed the questionable 'L/58' marked ring and stuck on an unmarked replacement ring?

Also, do we know for fact that Rudolf Souval did not make original Police Long Service medals? I'm sure they made lots of postwar examples, but maybe they made some wartime examples as well?

Best regards,
Tom

[Rommel1933]

Tom,

I just searched the ring high and low.. no sign of any stamp let alone a scratch.

I also checked the thickness. It is slightly thicker than my other known good ones. That is another trait of the Souval Police Medals I read.

From what I have read it appears that Souval did not make a pre May 1945 Police Award. I could be wrong and I am looking for that.

My mind is open to possibilities... I would like to solve this for sure. As Grandma used to say, "don't believe none of what you read and only half of what you see."

Thank you,
Scott

[Silesien]

Without any shadow of a doubt, Rudolf Souval KG after the war produced the 8-year Police Long Service medal. On my old 1971 Rudolf Souval Listing, this medal is listed as their stock nr. 8/30, priced @ 160 ÖS or 22.90 DM. This medal of theirs was always too thick.

[Rommel1933]

Thank you Silesien...

I found the most fascinating article tonight relating to Souval and other Post WWII Firms producing items. This article claims Souval was making 450 different Third Reich Medals.

This is an old 1971 article out of some newspaper. Pull up link for full article.

http://news.google.com/newspapers?ni...&pg=912,617423

[Silesien]

Souval made all those medals you mentioned ( die-struck, not cast ), but also made an SS Offzr belt buckle, an Army offzr belt buckle, & a Russian Award 'Fatherland Order of Soviet Russia' ( stock item 12/1 ). They had a huge supply of original German ribbon. When I was there, they had many ORIGINAL left-over Motor Vehicle Drivers Badges in all 3 grades still in their issue-envelopes, & some very inexpensive original tinnies including these: a Pommern-Stettin tinnie, a District Vienna tinnie, a District Münsterland tinnie, & a SA Sauerland SA tinnie; all these badges holding very little collector interest at the time.
The article you posted originally appeared in NEWSWEEK on 6.Okt. 1969, along with a picture of Gerhard Neher holding one of his Kurland cuffttles, & below that, a large assortment of the Sieder Firm's bullion 3d Reich handiwork.

[Rommel1933]

Hi Silesien!

Thank you for the reply and great information. I wonder if they article used "cast" because they didn't know any better.

Souval may have made these 460 medals after the war. However, what I would like to find out is if Souval made a 8 year police PRE 1945... Was there any time period catalog showing this you think?

Thank you,
Scott

[Silesien]

They most likely had a catalog, or listing, of their wartime products, but I've never seen it.