Denazified WB in Silver

[HBH]

Picked up this woundbadge yesterday. My main collecting area is Imperial German, but I have a weak spot for woundbadges so I just had to buy it.

The removal of the swastika is very well done, other denazified badges and medals I've seen have been handled quite crude. With a good amount of light and the right angle, the contours of the swastika can be seen.

I dont know if it's made of real silver or if it's a alloying of different metals. The seller said that it is an early type of badge and that the metal is of better quality than the metal in later woundbadges, although he did'nt know exactly what metal this badge is made of. I smelled it and its smells like silver, but just because it smells like silver, it hasnt got to be pure silver.

Marker marked 107 on the back, any ideas of the maker?

/Henrik

http://samlarforum.skalman.nu/files/p1010002a.jpg Obverse
http://samlarforum.skalman.nu/files/p1010003a.jpg Reverse
http://samlarforum.skalman.nu/files/p1010004a.jpg Makers Mark

[Chris Wainwrigh]

It is a silver wound badge that looks as if it has been painted black. That is a neat job of denazifing it. It is made by Carl Wild of Hamburg. Regards Chris

[Tom Yanacek]

Hello Henrik,

I agree with Chris. The seller gave you some good information as well. This is the earlier type badge by Carl Wild, having the separately applied hinge and catch. The second type badge by Wild was die-cast and had the hinge and catch cast as an integral part of the badge. The badge you have is probably made of feinzink, with a silver plated finish. The removal of the Hakenkreuz would have certainly revealed the base metal underneath. As Chris said, it looks like your badge was painted over.
Best regards! Tom

[HBH]

Chris and Tom,

thanks for the info on the maker. Interesting that he made two different types of hinge and catch. Is it common that makers had different designs to the medals/badges they made?

/Henrik

[Tom Yanacek]

Chris and Tom,

thanks for the info on the maker. Interesting that he made two different types of hinge and catch. Is it common that makers had different designs to the medals/badges they made?

/Henrik

Hello Henrik,
Yes, it is quite common to find variations from one maker to the next, and it is also common to see variations amongst pieces from the very same maker. Manufacturers were probably always looking for better, simpler ways to produce their wares. Anything that saved time, material, or cost was sought in the wartime economy. Some firms produced the same badges by several different methods, such as stamping, die-forging, and die-casting. Attachment hardware could vary considerably as well.
Here are two Wound Badges, both original and both produced by Carl Wild of Hamburg. Both of these badges are made of feinzink. The one on the left is silver plated, and the one on the right has a plated finish in gold.

[Tom Yanacek]

Now here are the reverses of the very same badges. The Silver Wound Badge is the same type as yours, with the separately applied hinge and catch. On this Gold Wound Badge example, you can see that the hinge and catch are cast into the badge itself. Obviously, this would save quite a bit of production time. The hinge and catch are already there. The only thing left to do was to drill the hinge for the hinge pin, and to attach the pin. With the earlier production method, the hinge, catch, and catch plate, had to all be made individually and then each component had to be soldered to the badge. The Silver and Gold Wound Badges by this maker can be found either with the separately applied hardware, or with the cast hinge and catch. The Black Wound Badges were made a totally different way using the die-stamping process.

[Tom Yanacek]

Here is a view with the pins open to show the maker markings. Both are marked the same; '107' in relief, enclosed within a cartouche.

Best regards! Tom

[Tom Yanacek]

Here is what a Black Wound Badge by Carl Wild looks like. This badge is stamped steel and the heavy, baked-on painted finish is in mint condition.

[Tom Yanacek]

Black Wound Badge reverse.

[Tom Yanacek]

Maker marking '107' in relief.

[PaulR]

Awesome WB in Black. They do not get any better than that!!!!

[Tom Yanacek]

Awesome WB in Black. They do not get any better than that!!!!

Thanks Paul! This one was obviously never issued. I also have the original issue packet for it. The pin on this badge is actually painted closed. It will not open unless the paint seal is broken. I have never tried to free up the pin on this badge. Figured it was best to leave it as found.
Best regards! Tom

[PaulR]

Never ever break that seal!!!

[paddywhack]

heres my minty 107 wound badge in black!

[paddywhack]

and of course the back!