by François Saez
&
Paul Williams

Part II Reproductions and Forgeries

It has been reported that more than one person has bought the type of goblet pictured in the smaller images as an ORIGINAL! (Please note that these photographs are not to scale - they can not be compared for relative size - the reproduction however is smaller than an original.) Readers may find this difficult to understand. Perhaps so ... but if one has not had the opportunity to closely examine one of these rare pieces of Luftwaffe memorabilia .... nor had access to clear, enlarged photographs .... nor realised that originals on today's market command some thousands of dollars ..............!! It is interesting to compare some of the detail of the fake (pics on the right) with an original:

For the record, the examples of these reproduction goblets examined by the author: Have no maker mark Are smaller than originals, Have the iron cross and eagles motifs glued or soldered in place Are not constructed of silver! Perhaps of greater concern to collectors, however, is the so-called "up-graded" Honor Goblet.  With these forgeries, the original recipient's name is erased and replaced with that of someone deemed to be more 'famous', for example, a noted Ritterkreuztrager. One of the authors has identified two examples which may have been enhanced in this way. Photographs, however, can not be published. If you see a goblet for sale purporting to be that of a 'famous' airman examine it very carefully. Hans-Ulrich Rudel Ehrenpokal 20.10.41.