Bulgaria Paratroopers WW2

[popskipa]

1.

[popskipa]

I seek the opinion of the forum please, are these paratrooper badges original and made before the end of WW2 ?

Thank you for looking, Keith

2.

[SkaraBrae]

Need more photos of first one. Second one with sun rays is from after the time Bulgaria switched sides to the Soviets -- the date on the sun 9.IX.44 is the date Bulgaria switched.

[Lubo]

Hi Keith,
the first badge is original, first issue paratroopers badge, quite rare!
The second one is the one that needs to be taken apart for good conclusion, I see a few things wrong here, better wait for a more textbook badge!
Many of these badges were assembled from leftover parts with added new material, aged and so on in the past 25 years! E-Medals are good, but you need to be better in knowing your stuff and not relying on their expertise

[SkaraBrae]

Hi Keith,
the first badge is original, first issue paratroopers badge, quite rare!
The second one is the one that needs to be taken apart for good conclusion, I see a few things wrong here, better wait for a more textbook badge!
Many of these badges were assembled from leftover parts with added new material, aged and so on in the past 25 years! E-Medals are good, but you need to be better in knowing your stuff and not relying on their expertise

The first badge is a type II oval in a type II wreath. (The type II oval differed from the type I in that the parachute was smaller. The type II wreath is thicker than the type I. ) However, more photos of the disassembled badge are needed to determine originality. At a minimum, the backing plate is not from WW2.

The upper badge is a type IV oval in a type II wreath. The inscription is the date Bulgaria changed sides in the war to join the Allies. It is possible to find all combinations of ovals and wreaths, wartime and postwar assembled. Here for sale is an original type III oval in a type II wreath:. Note that this oval does NOT have the inscription. It is from the German alliance time. This badge is completely original:

https://www.ebay.de/itm/Fallschirmja...oAAOSw5UZY~HuI

[Lubo]

Lets not loose the EBay "completely original" badge
It's as fake as it gets (fake wreath, fake back plate, possible fake enamel plate and so on), I don't know where you get your expertise from, but please don't pass it here with such generosity, it's expensivly dangerous

[SkaraBrae]

Lets not loose the EBay "completely original" badge
It's as fake as it gets (fake wreath, fake back plate, possible fake enamel plate and so on), I don't know where you get your expertise from, but please don't pass it here with such generosity, it's expensivly dangerous

You are 100 percent completely and totally wrong. I am not the seller of the badge, but I once met the original owner and recipient of that badge 25 years ago when it was still in his possession. He was a Fallschirmjaeger and a member of the Bund Deutsche Fallschirmjaeger and he was on the German training team which went to Sofia to train with the Bulgarians. I have many of his photos of the team in Sofia. and his Bulgarian badge award document, one of less than a dozen given to Germans. I don't know where you get your so-called "expertise" from, but I have been studying these badges for more than 30 years. Commenters like you who pretend to have knowledge but know nothing are what is wrong with this Forum.

[Lubo]

Oops, there goes the trouble!
I back out, leaving your "30 years experience" in charge here!
Good luck!

[Lubo]

Hey guys, I've received a few pms about the ebay badge and I'm back!
As you know these badges are of multiple parts construction, therefore sometimes we need better photos or in hand inspection!
However, this is not the case with this badge, as it's plain evident that it's at best parts Badge (with most of the parts being fake), let's brake it down:
1. The wreath is FAKE
2. The back plate is FAKE (there is a very slim chance to be of very late War or early post war production, which of course doesn't correspond to the badge).
3. The crown could be original (given the shady character of the badge, it needs closer examination!
4. The shield looks ok from these pics, but again, closer eye needed!
5. The enamel plate has a chance to be original, but I have other reasons to believe it's NOT!
6. The screw at the back is most probably FAKE also!

So, I don't know if "Mr. 30 YEARS OF EXPERIENCE" here is IN on the scam or is just ignorant, either way - DONT BUY THIS P.O.S. Badge!