SS 25 Year Award

[J C Gray]

Although not exactly the same, the stippling on the type of award in question always reminded me of the stippling on these fakes...

[J C Gray]

Here is a similar one that has been on Charlie Snyder's site for about 10 years.
Note the same mis-shapen right hand Rune to the odverse of the medal.
BTW. this one looks as if it has been sprayed with gold paint for some reason...it probably started life as a 12 year before being "upgraded" in order to push for the "POR" price tag.

...and comparative close-ups showing the dodgy rune...note (on the right hand rune) the top point of the cross stroke is far higher that that on the left hand one. Also note how the lower downstroke tapers and slopes inwards in order to avoid contact with the raised inline.

[PMan]

Comparison

...and comparative close-ups showing the dodgy rune...note (on the right hand rune) the top point of the cross stroke is far higher that that on the left hand one. Also note how the lower downstroke tapers and slopes inwards in order to avoid contact with the raised inline.

So you are saying that the Gottlieb medal and the Snyder are basically the same? The Gottlieb medal has this mis-shaped rune as well? Its a little harder to see. The fire gilded highlites are throwing me a bit. I have yet to see the fire-gilding faked that well. Can you comment on that part. Thanks, PMan.

[J C Gray]

So you are saying that the Gottlieb medal and the Snyder are basically the same? The Gottlieb medal has this mis-shaped rune as well? Its a little harder to see. The fire gilded highlites are throwing me a bit. I have yet to see the fire-gilding faked that well. Can you comment on that part. Thanks, PMan.

First of all let me state again that in no way can I say with 100% certainty that this is a reproduction...just as Antonio has put forward his own reasons as to why it should be considered original; so too am I putting forward reasons as to why caution should be observed when dealing with something of this price.
The angle of the photography does make it difficult to see, but the flaw is evident on both examples ( I also believe it is evident on Antonio's example ).
The term 'Fire Gilding' is something that is used pretty much ad lib on this forum for just about everything with a golden finish. Actual fire gilding or 'Mercury Gilding' to give it its proper name, however, is a very expensive and dangerous process. I highly doubt if these would ever have been fire gilded when they could have been electro plated (can anyone even confirm if they are even plated with real gold???). Anyway, the contrast between the matte & polished gold can be acheived in a variety of ways including: a gilded textured surface will always appear a different colour than a smooth gilded surface to begin with. The whole medal can then be lacquered...gold will lose a significant amount of its reflective qualities when lacquered and then the smoother, raised highlights can be polished, removing the laqcuer and then burnished to a mirror finish, in a similar way as the 12 year awards receive their white frosted & mirrored silver finish.

[PMan]

Comments

First of all let me state again that in no way can I say with 100% certainty that this is a reproduction...just as Antonio has put forward his own reasons as to why it should be considered original; so too am I putting forward reasons as to why caution should be observed when dealing with something of this price.
The angle of the photography does make it difficult to see, but the flaw is evident on both examples ( I also believe it is evident on Antonio's example ).
The term 'Fire Gilding' is something that is used pretty much ad lib on this forum for just about everything with a golden finish. Actual fire gilding or 'Mercury Gilding' to give it its proper name, however, is a very expensive and dangerous process. I highly doubt if these would ever have been fire gilded when they could have been electro plated (can anyone even confirm if they are even plated with real gold???). Anyway, the contrast between the matte & polished gold can be acheived in a variety of ways including: a gilded textured surface will always appear a different colour than a smooth gilded surface to begin with. The whole medal can then be lacquered...gold will lose a significant amount of its reflective qualities when lacquered and then the smoother, raised highlights can be polished, removing the laqcuer and then burnished to a mirror finish, in a similar way as the 12 year awards receive their white frosted & mirrored silver finish.

Thanks JC. I appreciate your comments.
Pman

[Antonio Scapini]

Pebbling on this type of medals is thousand times more complex than what we can see in fakes...
I don't want to post too much close ups of this type.