Mothers Cross

[cysior]

copy

[cysior]

another copy

[Stahlhelm]

Cysior,

The silver fake you posted does have some surprisingly good stippling in the enamel. I'm quite surprised and disturbed to see that. I also agree that the definition (or rather lack thereof) in the lettering is a serious giveaway. Of course, I do want to see just how good these fakes are getting in some areas, so I know what to look for myself.

I'm happy to say that the second gold version you posted does not have such convincing stippling, although there is a crude, also disturbing attempt to duplicate it. I think you would agree that the formation of this cross is also strikingly poor around its curves and points, as well. That's how I hope the fakes continue to look. I think you would agree that as long as it's not good enough to fool, it's good enough. However, thanks for posting both the photos of fakes. That's always a sure way to learn.

I think one of the worst things I see in your examples is that the fakers are working on this stippling effect, because they know it is a particular point of scrutiny. I, of course, wish them all the worst of luck with perfecting it. The one thing we seem to perpetually have on our side is that the Germans did such exceptionally fine work. The specifics and minutae of detail are second to none, even more than seventy years later.

There is a Mother's Cross on the e-stand that was just posted. You might want to check that one out. Although it does look good to me, it does also have the visible but less-than-obvious stippling that I'm talking about. Check that one out, and let me know what you think.

Chris

P.S. I'm actually learning quite a lot from this discussion, and I truly appreciate everyone's input and opinions. Just rethinking everything I thought I knew and checking it against the thoughts of others is worth more than the cost of a few nice Mother's Crosses, at least!