I guess you all heard about the so called "Chemnitz Post Office" discovery where many SS EM steel buckles marked 36/42 were found.
I was worry at the beginning of this story since there was few things odd on the few ones I saw by photo or handled at the SOS. Also the fact that on 60 SS Buckles found (as said) all but one were marked 36/42, and except very few all had the same wear was bothering me. So, I kept an eye open even if there was no guarantee new fakes were introduced.
Fortunately my doubts disappeared few weeks later when an advanced collector bought several of those, including one I had suspicion about based on its small photo previously submitted to me in low resolution. This collector sent me much higher resolution photos and that time one "oddity" revealed to be due to poor resolution photos rather than true difference. Another point of difference remains on some but we can now safely speak about original variant since any marks left by tools on original 36/42's in collections since decades are matching the ones on those 36/42's from "Chemnitz".
So, I no longer have any problem with this set for the above reasons and because the supply is now gone but I guess the "Chemnitz" story reached fakers's ears since here is what's new: the old fake from East Europe with a new flavor!
This photo was sent to me by a German friend always keeping an eye on fake activity in his country and we can see fakers certainly took care to not waste the big potential of "Chemnitz" !! They did not take the time or spend the money to create a new die but rather used the old one with just a marking change, but this could change in the future.
I am also going to post next photos of an original 36/42 for members to compare so check carefuly the photo's title!! Differences are numerous and obvious, so I will not comment. Find whatever is convenient for you to prevent the purchase of this fake. Anything you can find is a valid clue since the die used for the fake is not at all an original and/or not the exact copy of one.
I was worry at the beginning of this story since there was few things odd on the few ones I saw by photo or handled at the SOS. Also the fact that on 60 SS Buckles found (as said) all but one were marked 36/42, and except very few all had the same wear was bothering me. So, I kept an eye open even if there was no guarantee new fakes were introduced.
Fortunately my doubts disappeared few weeks later when an advanced collector bought several of those, including one I had suspicion about based on its small photo previously submitted to me in low resolution. This collector sent me much higher resolution photos and that time one "oddity" revealed to be due to poor resolution photos rather than true difference. Another point of difference remains on some but we can now safely speak about original variant since any marks left by tools on original 36/42's in collections since decades are matching the ones on those 36/42's from "Chemnitz".
So, I no longer have any problem with this set for the above reasons and because the supply is now gone but I guess the "Chemnitz" story reached fakers's ears since here is what's new: the old fake from East Europe with a new flavor!
This photo was sent to me by a German friend always keeping an eye on fake activity in his country and we can see fakers certainly took care to not waste the big potential of "Chemnitz" !! They did not take the time or spend the money to create a new die but rather used the old one with just a marking change, but this could change in the future.
I am also going to post next photos of an original 36/42 for members to compare so check carefuly the photo's title!! Differences are numerous and obvious, so I will not comment. Find whatever is convenient for you to prevent the purchase of this fake. Anything you can find is a valid clue since the die used for the fake is not at all an original and/or not the exact copy of one.
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