Methods to detect replaced insignia

[JG 51]

What do you consider to be the best method to detect replaced insignia?

[Glenn McInnes]

What do you consider to be the best method to detect replaced insignia?

Experience handling the stuff....




Glenn

[Raven26]

I have powers

[PaulR]

One thing to look for is evidence of previous insignia... (shadows where the fabric faded around a piece of insignia as well stitching holes/lines. Often the impression of previous insignia can be made out decades later).

[ApathyL]

Experience handling the stuff....




Glenn

Very well, hand over the knowledge to others who dont have it. I guess the gentlemen who started the thread expected a better reply. No offence but i personally do not like people who say, i know so much about this and about that and then they dont educate others, it could be said that because the fakers but in this case its not, as i said no offence.

Cheers, Les.

[JuanS]

Hi

I am also trying to learn. In a Heer combat tunic you need to learn what type of eagle and collar patches were the norm for that model. If you see a nice M 43 combat tunic with an early eagle and early collar patches (with waffenfarbe) they were not factory applied. If you see a M36 depot marked 1939, you would not expect late ( universal) collar patches and late subdue eagle. The difficulty as you also know is that tunics were re-issued later in war too.
thanks

Juan

[Raven26]

Les,

I am not, nor do I think Glenn, mean any disrespect. The fact of the matter is Glenn is correct. Only through handling original examples will make you well informed and have an "educated eye".

Regards,

Frank

Very well, hand over the knowledge to others who dont have it. I guess the gentlemen who started the thread expected a better reply. No offence but i personally do not like people who say, i know so much about this and about that and then they dont educate others, it could be said that because the fakers but in this case its not, as i said no offence.

Cheers, Les.

[pak 40]

the best way imho to see if the insignia is replaced (eagle p.e.)
is to hold it towords to sunlight,and you would see the previous holes
of the former insigina.
but its not always said replaced insigina is therefore bad,ore fake
just mention the tunic's that are upgraded to officer
en visa versa,because the are also chaps that where degraded
it al depends which item you have before you

hope this helps a bit

[Paul B]

I'm in no way an expert on this, but think there are certain common sense rules:

1) Is the insignia itself genuine or repro?

2) As the poster above said, is it the correct insignia for that uniform's time frame?

3) Is there evidence (shadows on the base cloth, traces of stitching, etc) that prior insignia has been removed, for example traces of a heer breast-eagle on a Waffen SS tunic. Be aware, however, that sometimes insignia could be removed during the WWII period for a legitimate reason, for example promotion.

4) Condition of the uniform and it's insignia should generally match -mint isignia on a worn tunic, or worn and obviously restitched insignia on a mint tunic, would be red flags.

5) The method of attachment of the insignia in terms of stitching....there's plenty of threads on this forum showing this, including shots of cut insignia still attached to original uniform pieces, and these repay careful study.

6) Gut feeling....is a tunic too good to be true, a para blouse with Kreta cuffband, Narvik shield and DK in cloth, or a GD tunic with three tank destruction badges....yes, these tunics do exist and spectacular examples of the real thing can be found in collections and on this forum, but any dream tunic deserves close scrutiny using the points listed above.

7) Handling and seeing the real stuff....my experience of uniform collecting is mainly with WWI German field grey tunics. Many of these saw service post-war with Freikorps units and were extensively repaired. altered and rebadged, and sadly there is no quick fix.....you do have to see, feel and inspect as many untouched originals as you can. Museums and internet forums are good sources, in-hand inspections are better.

Just my basic thoughts, all the best

Paul.

[CWP]

It is generally much easier to determine the originality of factory-applied machine-stitched insignia than hand-stitched stuff. Hand sewn is hand sewn and anyone who thinks they can determine with certainty when hand sewn insignia was applied is deluded.

[ApathyL]

Les,

I am not, nor do I think Glenn, mean any disrespect. The fact of the matter is Glenn is correct. Only through handling original examples will make you well informed and have an "educated eye".

Regards,

Frank

I totally agree with you Frank, and you also took the time to say what we mean instead of just saying 3-4 words.

Best regards, Les.

[FestungSpanien]

8) Pay extreme attention to the lining-Sometimes it has been unsewn to better sew the postwar insignia

I'm in no way an expert on this, but think there are certain common sense rules:

1) Is the insignia itself genuine or repro?

2) As the poster above said, is it the correct insignia for that uniform's time frame?

3) Is there evidence (shadows on the base cloth, traces of stitching, etc) that prior insignia has been removed, for example traces of a heer breast-eagle on a Waffen SS tunic. Be aware, however, that sometimes insignia could be removed during the WWII period for a legitimate reason, for example promotion.

4) Condition of the uniform and it's insignia should generally match -mint isignia on a worn tunic, or worn and obviously restitched insignia on a mint tunic, would be red flags.

5) The method of attachment of the insignia in terms of stitching....there's plenty of threads on this forum showing this, including shots of cut insignia still attached to original uniform pieces, and these repay careful study.

6) Gut feeling....is a tunic too good to be true, a para blouse with Kreta cuffband, Narvik shield and DK in cloth, or a GD tunic with three tank destruction badges....yes, these tunics do exist and spectacular examples of the real thing can be found in collections and on this forum, but any dream tunic deserves close scrutiny using the points listed above.

7) Handling and seeing the real stuff....my experience of uniform collecting is mainly with WWI German field grey tunics. Many of these saw service post-war with Freikorps units and were extensively repaired. altered and rebadged, and sadly there is no quick fix.....you do have to see, feel and inspect as many untouched originals as you can. Museums and internet forums are good sources, in-hand inspections are better.

Just my basic thoughts, all the best

Paul.