25 year NSDAP - comments please

[Denfor]

I would like input on this award thank you. .. Dennis

Pic 1

[Denfor]

Pic 2

[Denfor]

Pic 3

[Denfor]

Pic 4

[Denfor]

Pic 4
Double post

[Denfor]

Pic 5

[JoeW]

Does the ring have a manufacturer's mark?

[CurtD]

These are very tough to tell for certain with only pictures. You need someone who knows what they are doing do a hands on inspection.

There are some very good fakes of these. Usually, you can tell by the enamel -- but that is the hardest part to judge with a pic.

[Denfor]

The ring is maker marked '19'

Regards ............... Dennis

[Denfor]

Can anyone tell me what firm the maker mark'19' is for? Also any estimates on market price for the 25 year award. Thanks for your input.
Regards Dennis

[WARLORD]

Yours looks fine from the pics. 19 is a standard maker. A cross such as yours if on the market would be in exsess of £2000.00. These are much rarer than KC. IF YOU APPLIED THE SAME PRICE STRUCKTURE THE 25 YEAR CROSS WOULD BE £12000.00.

[tgn]

This is truly an outstanding piece. And the comments by WARLORD are correct -"19" is the only accepted maker. Originals are extremely rare. I have only seen 4 or 5 in the last 30+ years of collecting. Unfortunately, they do not command the price that the rarity would seem to warrant. Great find... Tom

[Denfor]

Yours looks fine from the pics. 19 is a standard maker. A cross such as yours if on the market would be in exsess of £2000.00. These are much rarer than KC. IF YOU APPLIED THE SAME PRICE STRUCKTURE THE 25 YEAR CROSS WOULD BE £12000.00.

Thanks for the clarification on authenticity. Too bad the price is not reflected in the rarity. Dennis

[Denfor]

Thanks for nthe thumbs up Tom. I acquired this item about 19 years ago and haven't taken much notice as I was into edged weapons. Looks like I will have to sift through my 'accumulated' awards & badges and see what comes out of the wood work. Regards Dennis

[jwburchell]

This posting by Dennis has piqued my own curiousity and motivated me to get my own 25 Year NSDAP medal out of deep-storage for consideration and comment here on this Forum.

From what I understand, the cross is a fine quality, heavy piece of deluxe gold-plated silver, rather than bronze, with an original silk ribbon (this purportedly from the seller/dealer and apparent previous seller/dealer - both of whom shall remain anonymous, for the moment, at least).

There is no maker-mark on the ribbon ring. Were all originals maker-marked?

The suspension loop affixed to the top of the medal is the thinner vs. the thicker one.

Under black light, the white in the ribbon glows quite brightly. I now understand that black-light tests are only a guide and not always definitive. Is it possible that a genuine, period ribbon might display this property? If not, this could be a modern replacement ribbon.

As well, a few small, thin spots of dull-glow appear around the inside perimeter of the applied central wreath on both sides. I believe that such original, multi-piece medals were not assembled using glue. This glowing could, therefore, be a sign of glue - possibly on an original having been damaged and glued back together?

Finally, on the reverse, the central wording/motto appears to be slightly off-centre, tilting to the right.

Shortly after purchasing this medal, I noticed that the slight tilt appears to be identical to the piece pictured in Adrian Forman's "Guide to Third Reich German Awards". I contacted him on this point and he responded that, "The off-centre is no problem as regards originality."

Having been thus reassured and not owning or knowing about black light testing at that time, I put the medal away in safe storage and have seldom examined it since.

So, now is judgement day, fellow colleagues and collectors. Fire-away, please. I can take it, one way or the other.

Thanks and regards,
John

Medal obverse: