SS Membership Lapel Pin

[jwburchell]

A fellow collector, who does not collect German militaria, recently acquired a pin and has asked for my opinion. Being no expert when it comes to SS items, I did a search on this forum and found a thread dating back to 2003 entitled "Ouch!" by CRBeery, with comments from moderator Tony Barto, that seem to deal with this type of pin.

Seems to me that the pin pictured here is a fake, but I would appreciate a "yes" or a "no" and any other comments from forum members who know better.

The pin bears black and white enamel over a non-metallic base on the obverse. The reverse bears the markings: "M1-172" (for Walter & Henlein, Gablonz); the "RZM" proofmark (which, per Robin Lumsden's reference indicates a fake, since the letter "Z" is minus the central stroke); and "GES GESCH". The pin measures 23mm across.

Thanks, in advance, for your responses.

Regards,
John

[jwburchell]

Reverse view:

[SScollector]

Hello,

FYI: Original SS artifacts, (and I would assume many other WW2 German political items that are RZM marked), can have the RZM logo in many different styles and variations.
Some of these variations include a double circle around the RZM, (with the inner circle being connected to the bottoms of the legs of the "M"), and can be with or without the slash through the center of the "Z".
Also, some only have a single circle around the RZM, (again, these can be with or without the slash through the "Z"), and on some, the "M" in not connected at all, with the circle.
In fact, some of them have very sloppy circle(s) that aren't even close to perfectly rounded, etc. The bottom line, there are many variations and they are usually a little, (or a lot), different from one piece to another.

As for the SS pin above, it is a well known fantasy, which was based off the SS membership stick pin and the typical NSDAP membership badge.

All the best,
Chris

[jwburchell]

Thanks, Chris, for your reply on this pin and also the additional information.
Regards,
John