SS FM stickpin

[Henri S]

What do you guys think of this SS FÖRDERNDE MITGLIEDER stickpin ? It seems to be made of brass and does not have the glaze on the obverse. Anyone seen this type before ?

[Henri S]

Here it is compared to the FM stickpins we usually see.

[Henri S]

Reverse view of the two pins

[Don Scowen]

I thinks it's probably OK, just been treated very badly, perhaps kept somewhere acidic, maybe ground dug. Everything that I would look for is there, the proportions are correct, as is the layout used on the reverse. If it is a copy, then someone has done their research to get it to look right. A couple of the letters used in the mm on the back look a little odd to me, but that could be down to corrosion or perhaps a sign that it is a copy.

I wouldn't be surprised if the pin had been replaced.

Only the Honour version was made of silver, so the base metal could well be a bronze or copper based metal that had been coated with a silver type finish.

A very interesting piece, thanks for sharing

Cheers
Don

[Jay Gillespie]

OK or not

I agree with everything Don has already posted. I will add that having collected FM pins and related material for close to 20 years now I have yet to see anything "copper." The possibility that it is just corroded is possible. Howeveer, the enamel itself should not be quite as damaged unless such corrosion was truly an acid bath. There are a number of tell-tale points that I also use to determine originality, and I can not really "see" whether 2 of them are ok here or not. The obverse printing bottom is off. Would that in and by itself challange authenticity? I am not sure. But over these years I have learned from holding a lot of fakes, some good and some really pretty bad, that whenever I have had a serious doubt about a particular tell tale point in the long run that doubt has been confirmed. And that usually led to another tell-tale point for future reference. I would not be at all interested in adding it to my collection, and I am always open to adding these pins to my case.

[Henri S]

Thanks for your remarks Jay and Don . Yes the pin in question is identical in dimensions to an authentic one and the enamel is damaged. I also agree that the pin could have been also replaced at some point, possibly this was ground dug or found damaged somewhere. Regarding the maker mark at the bottom, I have seen reference to an authentic one with the same setup. I will try to see if I can find it.

OK found it on Kai Winkler's site :