Luft gorget good or bad?

[brannow]

Hi All,

A friend of mine bought this Luft standarte Gorget from Bruce Petrin and some of the more knowledgeable dealers told my friend it was a high end fake. He asked me to post it hear for him to get some opinions.

What do you guys think, good or bad???

Thanks in advance,

Bill Rannow
Mpls, MN

[JAYP]

Bill I think this one is a fake and not a high end one.The eagle and Assmann marking are both terrible.Jay Parisi

[Jos L C]

I agree ..

Jos.

[Leroy]

I would not be willing to bet that this is a fake............

[schmelpboy]

Assman did make these gorgets, but I'm betting this is a fake. I'd need to see from the side of the tabs on the back, but the upper left tab is too thin, almost paper thin. Dead giveaway. Also, they didn't even manage to correctly center the Assman mark on the center tab. Germans took pride in their work, and an off-center makers maker (which defined the craftsmanship of their company) wouldn't happen on this gorget.

[Waffenreich]

This is definately a fake, albeit a pretty good one.

One of the give aways besides the issue with the mark is the chain. The links on the chain of original Luft SB gorgets is nickel silver and slightly rounded/wider/bowed at the center of each link (identical to original FG gorgets). The links on this chain are flattened. There was an identical one of these on an auction site not too long ago and it sold for like $900ish if I remember correctly.

Tell your friend to give it back.

I would not be willing to bet that this is a fake............

[busterz111]

Its a Fake BUT why would you mention the dealer right off?....Your a dealer of this stuff you should know.

[brannow]

Thanks for all the comments.

busterz111 I have no dog in this fight. The dealer told my friend to post it on this forum with his name and if the verdict was fake he would refund his money. I would not normally do this

As a dealer though if some one has a question about something of mine I tell them to post it on one of the forums. I personally would not have a problem with it.

[gtmvett427]

i aggree with brannow

im a dealer and if i sold an item and guaranteed it as a real pre 1945 item i would not have a problem with it! if a dealer is selling fakes isnt it good to let the buyers know this? i aggree with brannow! also sometimes dealers dont know and this is a great spot to get good opinions

[Leroy]

As I said, I would not be willing to bet that this is a fake.

I also would not be willing, at this point, to bet it is real.

What is this piece being compared to? I would assume that most are comparing it to known originals, of which Juncker was the prime (and perhaps only) producer. Has anyone seen a known original by some company other than Juncker? Did Assmann (or any other company) produce these, for sure? If others did produce them, what do they look like? Would we expect them to look exactly like a Juncker piece?

Just some questions which should be asked, IMO, before saying this one is automatically a fake.

[Waffenreich]

Maybe I wasn't clear enough in my previous post, the chain in itself is a repro. Considering it is an integral part of the gorget that to me makes the gorget guilty by association. Also, unless I'm mistaken, Assmann marked their gorgets with just the stylized "A". This looks like a crappy attempt to replicate the way Juncker marked theirs.

I've handled enough of these and their Heer counterparts to be able to make a reasonably accurate determination on authenticity.

Additionally, I don't know what the guy paid for this, but I do know Bruce Petrin (formerly of Petrin & Cole) has never been cheap. If he paid anything under $4,000 from him I'd be suspicious.

As I said, I would not be willing to bet that this is a fake.

I also would not be willing, at this point, to bet it is real.

What is this piece being compared to? I would assume that most are comparing it to known originals, of which Juncker was the prime (and perhaps only) producer. Has anyone seen a known original by some company other than Juncker? Did Assmann (or any other company) produce these, for sure? If others did produce them, what do they look like? Would we expect them to look exactly like a Juncker piece?

Just some questions which should be asked, IMO, before saying this one is automatically a fake.

[Leroy]

Is this the type chain you would rather see?

[schmelpboy]

As I said, I would not be willing to bet that this is a fake.

I also would not be willing, at this point, to bet it is real.

What is this piece being compared to? I would assume that most are comparing it to known originals, of which Juncker was the prime (and perhaps only) producer. Has anyone seen a known original by some company other than Juncker? Did Assmann (or any other company) produce these, for sure? If others did produce them, what do they look like? Would we expect them to look exactly like a Juncker piece?

Just some questions which should be asked, IMO, before saying this one is automatically a fake.

Assman did make these as well. If you can get your hands on one of the old Assman catalogs that are still floating around, they are in it.

[Leroy]

Assman did make these as well. If you can get your hands on one of the old Assman catalogs that are still floating around, they are in it.

I believe you are correct. I pulled an old original I had, but several pages are missing, including, I guess, the page on which it appears. Do you have a copy you could share a photo from?

[schmelpboy]

I believe you are correct. I pulled an old original I had, but several pages are missing, including, I guess, the page on which it appears. Do you have a copy you could share a photo from?

I don't. I had one awhile ago, then sold it, now I want one again. There are some people out there still reprinting them, I've just been too busy to get a copy. I'm near positive it is in that catalog though.