Tinnie Collectors Are Crazy - New Record Price Paid

[GiuseppeC]

This morning, I bid on a tinnie in a European auction house...not just any tinnie, but Bremen 35-03 (SA Gruppe Nordsee - Sternritt Nach Bremen).

I bid what I thought was an insane amount of money (after all, it is a tinnie, but it's a key piece missing from most collections). It was an original uncleaned badge, correctly marked, but the original pin was replaced with a heavier vertical hinged-pin & catch assembly more commonly seen on military/civil awards. My impression was that it was a period modification, with the catch having been re-soldered later on. (I can't post pics from my phone, but it's Lot 2287 of Ulrich Felzmann's auction; the catalog on their site has both sides pictured, if someone would be so kind to post the pictures here for posterity).

This thing hammered-down at 900€ !!!!! If that's not high enough, let's add the 20% Commission, 20% VAT (depending on buyer's locale), 4% Payment processing fee, and Shipping!!!!!

Figuring the exchange rate at 0,87€ = $1, this means that, depending on where the buyer lives, they paid between:

$1,291.81 - $1,487.08

I could be wrong but as far as I know, that's a record for a single tinnie.

I bid high, but I never had a chance...

Edit to add link:

https://auktionen.felzmann.de/

[RonR]

So
2
Lot 2287
1935. 47.71 g. SA-Gruppe Nordsee, Sternritt nach Bremen August 1935, Abzeichen, Hersteller M. FLECK & SOHN / HAMBURG 3, 47.71 g.

Ask our experts

<table class="biddings biddings-top"> <tbody> <tr> <td> Result 900 € </td> <td class="meingebot"> My bid — </td> <td> Starting price 380 € </td> </tr> </tbody> </table> details and submitting bids

[RonR]

oooo

[GiuseppeC]

oooo

Great, thanks Ron!!

[Military]

I guess if a certain collector wants it, and if money is not a problem, then a bidding war happens. It seems like a very, very nice badge. I say a badge rather than a tinnie. It looks so well made!

Mil

[Gary B]

I must admit that is a super looking tinnie! Sorry you did not win it.

Gary B

[Bob Hritz]

We all know the pain of being outbid. It only means that others valued the item more highly. That is why I never cared to bid in auctions. I prefer to buy from someone who knows what price it will take to buy their item.

Bob Hritz

[Chris Lee]

tinnie

Its been my experience that SA tinnie collectors seem very willing to pay top dollar for tinnies and badges.

[Wim Vangossum]

Indeed not cheap but that's one of the coolest tinnies I ever saw.

[GiuseppeC]

We all know the pain of being outbid. It only means that others valued the item more highly. That is why I never cared to bid in auctions. I prefer to buy from someone who knows what price it will take to buy their item.

Bob Hritz

Bob:

Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining, just amazed that somebody would pay that much...to put it on the scales, I recently bought 2 pretty good swords for around the same price, and I see bargains in a lot of other areas, too.

[Bob Hritz]

Bob:

Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining, just amazed that somebody would pay that much...to put it on the scales, I recently bought 2 pretty good swords for around the same price, and I see bargains in a lot of other areas, too.

I agree the price was out of bounds. The reason I do not like to buy at auctions is that often there are two individuals who will not be outbid and the price realized is not reflective on the rarity of the item. Even though this is one exceptional tinnie IT IS A TINNIE and should not cost so much. Now, should a dealer find one, he will feel the value is that of the last recorded sale. Thus, the cycle continues.

Bob Hritz

[11C]

What makes that a Tinnie and not an SA badge? I see no "spacific" date as per the typical day badge. I'm obviously confused about definition...........someone please explain.

[GiuseppeC]

What makes that a Tinnie and not an SA badge? I see no "spacific" date as per the typical day badge. I'm obviously confused about definition...........someone please explain.

@ 11C:

As I always understood it, "Tinnie" is a general term that covers both event and meeting badges. I have several undated tinnies, and while they don't have a specific date, it is possible to figure out the event date through research in some cases. (I've done that with both Rosenheim 29-01, and Danzig 39-01, but don't remember their dates off the top of my head).

In the case of this SA tinnie, the original pin configuration is a horizontal "tinnie"-style pin, and not the "badge"-type pin/catch assembly shown on this one. The reasons I felt this was a period-done change, are: age of the solder (patination on the hinge side matches overall patination on the badge, and vertical to go through loops on a uniform); if it was replaced by a tinnie collector, they would have most-likely opted to use an original tinnie-style pin, not an "upgraded, and sturdier" one. Most tinnie collectors I know are purists, who would probably feel that the replaced pin hurts the value; imho, I think period-done modifications are interesting - they show that an item was very important to the original owner.

@ Bob:

Absolutely right; my max bid was 560€ (which I thought was very high already); after add-on costs, this would have worked out to around $800...when it opened online, pre-sale bidding kicked it up to 800€, and the winning bidder bumped it to 900€.

[NickG]

RonR strikes again with an example! Beautiful design!

[RonR]

Nick,

Sadly not mine.

Was posting the photos from the auction so we don't lose the thread content.

Best regards,