The prongs on this one have me slightly worried. They seem to be copper plated metal and very new looking. The rest of the skull looks ok to me. Reason for concern or just paranoid?!
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Is it me or does the teeth area lack definition as well ? Has it been repainted and that's swallowed the detail or is it just from a worn die ?
Not trying to be disparaging you understand.
Ian.Comment
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Good areas to be concerned about, but, in this case, I see nothing wrong here whatsoever. Less detail is not uncommon in zinc pieces, particularly when they were made late in the war using old, worn dies. Also, unlike the thin finish on silvered insignia, paint is relatively thick and tended to fill in some of the finer details. [Bare aluminum, of course, has the sharpest detail]
I would be glad to have this one in my collection.
Cheers,
BradComment
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Looks OK to me. It is common for the late pieces to lack details, especially on the teeth. The pins look OK to me too. I'm not sure if the prongs
were made of CupAl, but they could be, and this would explain the aluminum underneath, but I can't tell much about the prongs in your pictures. Are you sure that the copper is coming off, as opposed to it having a bit of silver paint on the prong?
Also, could you post a close-up pic of the markings?
Here is one of mine with similar style prongs.
Best, ChrisComment
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I think these pins are made of brass or another copper-based alloy. Rather than a layer of metal peeling, I believe what you see wearing off is a thin layer of lacquer or other similar protective coating which was applied to the bare metal of the pins at the time of their manufacture to protect them from tarnish/corrosion.Originally posted by SScollector View PostComment
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Brad, Chris, Ian, thanks for the comments.
To answer a few points.
Yes, the silver paint is very thick on this one which "fills in the details".
As for the pins, I've looked hard at them again and they're copper. Where I scraped the end of one, I thought I could see silver showing through but it's definitely solid copper. What threw me is that they look brand spanking new!
Here's another one posted here recently that's a lot more tarnished and showing aging.Comment
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Here is one I owned for a while. Note that it has somewhat crisper detail, indicating that it might be of slightly earlier manufacture. It also has the pins with slightly smaller round bases than those on yours and Chris' examples.
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...And even smaller! Note the hook on the tip of the pins.
So far, all of the 254/42 skulls that I have seen with the smallest discs,
also have the hook on the prong tip like this one.
Best, ChrisLast edited by SScollector; 01-15-2008, 06:42 PM.Comment
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Very nice skull Ben.
Brad, Chris-thanks for the education.
I've been away for a while, bought a new house and have moved. If I have forgotten to give my new address to anyone, please send me a PM.Comment
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