Is there a database of the accepted backs of each manufactories? If not are there some general guidelines as to what is good or fake? On another forum "coffin backed" pins have been said to be all fakes. Is this true?
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Well, Jo Rivett's book covers many pin types for party badges. I think the coffin pin plate is just one known red flag in a sea of red flag fakes. I think the pin plate alone is just one of the puzzle pieces I use when evaluating a possible purchase. I know Hoffstatter used oval pin plates on 'some' badges and not others. I have party pins by the same maker with totally different setups. I have a real enamel Luftwafffe unit badge with a coffin-ish plate, but not at all like the goofy modern fakes talked about in the other posts. I try to look at the whole package: proven to have existed, enamel looks right, wear right( even wear or worn on high points, weight, pin plate, makers mark- and another thing I do is check to see if a glut of newly available identical 'rare' badges have appeared on the dealer market. None of these are good enough alone, just part of the ritual I go through. Jo's book goes in to great detail on micro analysis of the badges. If you have time and patience, you can use his technique to make a wise decision before purchase. It's a great book and I'm really very happy to have a work like this available to help me put my mind at ease.
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