Bronze Table Eagle

[Br. James]

"What bothers me the most is when experts give an opinion they usually just say fake, garbage, thumbs down and not a word about why so others can learn."

Yeah, it takes a while to get used to this facet of online critiquing of artifacts...or supposed artifacts. What's at work when you see such brief responses as "fake, garbage, thumbs down" is the realization that the people who create forgeries of artifacts are also studying these collector websites and they are watching closely for any advice on how to improve their skills and their products. So the only way we have for sharing the experience of decades in this hobby is often the briefest advice concerning an individual piece, without providing any hint of why that responder thinks that that piece is a modern reproduction.

I know it's very hard to receive such curt replies, especially when they contradict what you are hoping is a positive response! But, for the ongoing good of our hobby and for the benefit of the collecting community at large, it's better to avoid giving any advice to those among us who are hoping to receive feedback that they can use toward cheating and faking the originality of the artifacts which we covet.

With all good wishes,

Br. James

[Erich B.]

There are definitely original examples of these eagles, and I believe they were cast by a Giesserei (foundry) as are many of the wall eagles and one sided display eagles. They're not die struck. I've seen originals with a nickeled finish as well as with a bronze finish. Most that you will see on the market are fakes, poorly cast, of aluminum, an aluminum alloy, or brass. The main giveaway is the lack of fine detail to the obverse of the fakes when compared to an original. Better photos (a little lighter to show the details) would be helpful but it looks pretty good to me from these pictures. The leg attached to the reverse is nearly never present on fakes.
Erich

[Reinhard2]

I forgot to mention that the leg of the shown eagle seems to be replaced but it has the same shape. Those from the originals are also made of iron.