Stogieman

Here's a photo of a real one. Compare the details to the initial pix... can you spot all the differences? (Photo cortesy of Niemann?, Hamburg. But I own this badge now.)

hey Fran?ois, How difficult is it to find these small unit pins? I have not ever seen more than a dozen, excluding the thousands of fakes floating around.

Very nice Gordon, I did not realize such a variety existed. Thanks for posting these!

Close-up of the eagle/target. Target is not a perfect match, nor is the bird... but a quick look, or crappy photos will fool the uninitiated buyer. I must now advise anyone looking to add this (exceedingly) rare badge to their collections to excersise extreme caution when considering a purchase of one of these badges. flame

Details. Note that the rivets are bigger and appear to have "flattened" heads. Very close, but not the same as original, period badges.

Reverse. Note the 3 rivets and almost perfect maker mark. flame

Sadly, they (whoever the b*stards are) have now started making close (but no cigar) copies of the Imperial Prussian Air Gunner Badge. Following fotos were culled from eBay, playground of many crooks. This badge is close, closest yet. But it IS NOT real. flame

Hi David, I never figured this one out. A Bavarian making a Saxon "Fashion Statement!! I combed through my archives and could not come up with another Bavarian bar with the device. But this one was clearly made this way! One of those things we'll probably never figure out!

My "Twin" informs me my picture of brit POW's from Perrone belongs here! Whoops!

I agree Gordon, what a farce...... :speechless-smiley-004:

Awesome cross, nonetheless. I'd bet it's a Godet. The angled pin end mounting to the hinge is a spot-on match to not only Godet EK1's, but to a couple of (definately) period Flight Badges I've been studying and trying to pin the maker down on.

heh, heh, heh...... I know where this came from. I'm his "Pusher"..... he's easily amused. A good bar (or two, or three) and he can be made to perform amazing "tricks" jumping

Hi Don, best bet is to deal with very trusted sellers. The other for-sure original out there that few people know about was made by Juncker. Unmarked, but typical pin/hinge assembly as in their early WW2 Auxiliary Cruiser Badges. Hold one of these puppies in-hand and you'll instantly know. One of my serious recommendations to folks is long before you buy something like this, try and visit friends, dealers and shows. handle as many badges as you can. In-person, the real stuff sticks out like a sore thumb as compared to the dodgy pieces.

They have cheesy enamel. They are (usually) uniface, with blank, or "stippled" backs. Quality is just awful. These pop up on US eBay and people bid them up. (Heavy Sigh) If half the people out there who spent money on this rubbish spent HALF on books and learning, they would be so much better off! (Sorry, personal axe to grind here. I HATE fakers) :violent-smiley-017:

I'm pretty sure that First Class Cross is made by Godet. Pin, hinge and catch are consistent with other Godet examples. Any marks on it??!

The cheesy, "tuna-can" metal ones with paint are the actual issued awards, as came with the document. The enameled ones are all "private-purchase" pieces as upgraded by the Germans. I have a document to a WW1 flyer, later S/A general Fritz Vielstich. One of the 2 guys you saw fly over the dunes and kick Ole' Lawrence of Arabia's butt back across the Sinai. The story of these german aviation units from this front are amazing. They lost, but the fighting they did with limited resources was pretty amazing. Vielstich was bumped up 2 full ranks for his bravery in action. An unusual occurance to say the least! Here's another "issue" badge [attachmentid=12501] [attachmentid=12502]

Another one and my absolute favorite based purely on rarity! The Prussian Air Gunner Badge, as issued in 1918 (only!). Three-piece, stamped tin, silvered but actually maker marked!

Very nice to see so many examples of these crosses boxed. One of the pieces that whilst hard to find, with a little "snooping" can be had! I love the ones that looked like they just walked off the jeweler's shelf.... complete with LDO "Quality Assurance" paper tag! Cheers!

Yes you do Rick, you scanned some of the ones I had. I have images of the bars with metal miniatures. After SS minis, probably one of the hardest devices to find. next would be the RAD devices, especially silver.... will send RR images, if you need them. Cheers!

despite the small image, looks like a classic Juncker in Tombak. One of my favorite Luftwaffe Badges of all time.

Hi John, it's nice to see these earlier examples that are so very hard to find.

Hey Marcus! I never really gave this a whole lot of thought until recently. I would clean pieces with a "dry brush" (soft bristle)... but never used polish on them. I wasn't opposed to the concept, just never seemed to have the time. Then I bought back a cased Prussian Pilot Badge from a customer. He had the badge about a year. When he offered to sell it back, I thought "Great!".... he even re-sent me my original photos from when I had sold it to him. When the badge arrived, it had been buffed/polished severly with silver polish and looked like some trinket one would buy at the local car-boot on Saturday.... I could have died. 90 years of history/patina erased in a heartbeat. flame Cleaning, sure, makes sense. Stripping the age-patina..... well, not for me.

Nice bars Rick. There's not very many of the "Cross of Liberty" miniatures floating about. very nice!

Awesome breast star. I actually owned one of these once-upon-a-time.. Breast stars are about the most impressive Imperial Award, IMO. Holding one in your hand gives real significance to the thought of a uniform festooned with these. They're pretty massive and heavy!

Hi Jim, will dig out photos and post reverses as soon as I figure out my foto-attachment woes. Cheers!