Bullion Skulls

[fredswiss]

Here's mine (veteran acquired):

[krikke1980]

Ugliest vertical skull tab I have ever seen. It never had an RZM tag and came with the unissued piped rank tab.

Bob Hritz

Thanks for showing all these TK tabs Bob.

The example in post 4 should have been burned and left wortless here if it wasn't you who posted him here...!
Probably with the words; 'Sloppy made bullion, so fake for sure!'

[Robert H]

Even the "ugly" original one shows originality compared the known current stage copys.
Its not about how sloppy it is about how its done where you have to look for and no matter who is posting it

[Bob Hritz]

Robert H is correct. In the last few years there are better and better attempts that need close examination. I certainly can be fooled, and was, on that machine embroidered vertical positioned skull with numerals removed. Upon close inspection, and comparison with original examples, it fell short. Gary Wood did great detective work showing the before and after shots of the repro tab.

I do believe that there are telltale traits on hand embroidered skull collar tabs. A cursory inspection is no longer good enough. Knowing the traits of originals will help identify those that are copys. These include the bullion material, the workmanship, the unterlagen, the base material, the bukram, piping, etc.

It is imperative to know not to disguard originals that are not as perfect as some, but it is of equal importance to be cautious and thouroughly examine each and every example. This way, it is easier to be comfortabke with authenticity.

Posting original examples, here, is a great way for all to share, study, and learn what to look for.

Bob Hritz

[J. M. C.]

Even the "ugly" original one shows originality compared the known current stage copys.
Its not about how sloppy it is about how its done where you have to look for and no matter who is posting it

Hi Robert,
Sounds great!
Can we name the one in post #4 the insanely deformed variant? The skull is misshapen the bones are helter skelter.... ooohhh better yet it's the Insane Helter Skelter variant!

[J. M. C.]

Here's mine (veteran acquired):

Hi Fred,
That thing is just beautiful. I'll never get tired of seeing that tab.

It would look great in one of my display cases....

[Robert H]

JMC no name needed, look at the Delich collection or other drawer hoards with the variations you see there.
The mentioned fake generation is not only about skull tabs, it's also about rune, numbered lettered ones. Numbers and letters bring more money...