Dr Fritz Todt award - good or bad?

[ancientrelicsuk]

Hi Guys,

Does this Fritz Todt award look original? I have never seen a real one and searching the forums, I don't see any numbered examples like this one. Thanks for looking and for all comments.

Best regards, Guy

[ancientrelicsuk]

More pix...

[Gary Symonds]

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[Gary Symonds]

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[Gary Symonds]

In my opinion this is an original.

However, most of the posts after me will tell you it is a reproduction.

This is based on the fact that this pattern was used for many fakes, therefore based on that, the consensus will be that your Todt badge is a fake.
The Todt badge that will be posted by other members is different, and made by a different maker. That alone will be sufficient to support the general opinion that these badges are fakes. However, we know that the Party always tried to spread the work around, and rarely gave a lock on one maker's type of badge.

I own the same pattern with number 108. The date 8/2/44 was the year this award was instituted, being the second anniversery of Todt's death in an airplane accident on February 2, 1942. The workmanship and reverse fittings of the badge are clearly period quality.

If you go to Foreman's books, he shows the same reverse with the same letter and number font for a gold badge.

I truly expect few members will agree these are originals. However, none of the fakes based on this pattern have the 8/2/44 date on the back.

[Br. James]

It looks like a genuine award to me, Guy, including the case, but I am in the same boat with you: I've never seen a "good one" personally, and I have never read the sort of details about this award that would convince me of one from another. Why most examples of the Fritz Todt Prize appear with smooth reverses -- not even a maker's mark or an LDO code -- and a few others appear with what look like control or issue numbers such as this one, I simply do not understand. So I have always avoided even considering buying or bidding on one. Perhaps some of our colleagues here can provide the level of detailed information we're looking for? I hope so!

Br. James

[DanCz]

I too believe it to be genuine. I would however be very wary of an example that had a makers mark or code of any kind on the reverse.

[der-hase-fee]

The proper date format would be 8.2.44. Any suspicion why the dots are missing ?

[ancientrelicsuk]

Thanks Guys, I appreciate the comments - interesting to see your example with impressed numbers, Gary - thanks.

Best regards, Guy

[Stan]

As Gary would expect, my opinion is that the badges shown are fakes.

IMO so is the Gold version shown in Forman's book.

Stan

[Gary Symonds]

As Gary would expect, my opinion is that the badges shown are fakes.

IMO so is the Gold version shown in Forman's book.

Stan

Stan, why am I not surprised.

I would point out the following, and maybe you can explain:

I have been a serious TR collector since 1991. In all of those years, the only Todt badges I have seen with the reverse marking of 8 2 44, and this style of eagle is Guy's 126, my 108, and Foreman's #5, in gold. All of the Todt badges I have seen posted on the WAF, have a different style eagle, some have sort of horizonal lines on the reverse, and no date or award number. An example is in RonR's example in post 2 in the following link.

http://dev.wehrmacht-awards.com/foru...highlight=Todt

Where are all the others? Certainly the faker would be out there pumping these out, to make back his investment in creating this badge from scratch.

Stan, how about a cogent explaination to make some sense of this?

[Stan]

Gary,

I own a couple of original Fritz Todt award badges and they are shown on this thread here:http://dev.wehrmacht-awards.com/foru...itz+Todt+Preis

There are many differences to the one's posted on this thread, especially the title which should read "Dr Ing. Fritz Todt Preis". Originals are made of Cupal.

Just why so many wartime "Private Purchase" examples were made is a mystery.

However, the one's posted on this thread aren't even period IMO.

Stan

[Military]

I do not believe this is a genuine piece. Having owned the standard version for reference, the details including the design and proportion of features look different from what I would expect. Just my opinion and I dont like this one pictured. Mil

[Gary Symonds]

Guys, I would point out that in Angolia's Political and Civil Awards book, he depicts st page 103 the same Todt badge that Guy and myself own.

In fact he says that the example that is the "original" as far as Stan and other members claim, is a "design variant."

If we go to Foreman's 3d edition at page 224, he depicts gold number 5, with an obverse identical to the so-called accepted design, yet on the reverse the 8 2 44 and the number 5 share the same die depiected on my 108, and Guy's 126.

What is always discounted and never explained, though I have invited comments in this thread, is that the difference in the two eagles is nothing more than a difference in makers.

What puzzles me is that the Todt award was supposed to be rare, with a cash prize attached. There is always an endless supply of the accepted version, and few of the example posted by Guy and myself. Weitze always, but always has them for sale. What gives?

How do we know that these are not the fakes, and mine real?

So, I guess Angolia was wrong to depict this example as the original, and the "accepted" by the WAF majority as as a "variant?"

What do you say Stan?

[jabnus]

How do we know that these are not the fakes, and mine real?

You know there is a very easy answer to that.....(but you refuse microscopic research to unmask all of your fakes).