Ferg1

Here are some examples of the observer badge. Four stamped issue badges,two Juncker (one mint and unused) one steel example and a strange , IMO post war piece, back-filled with lead and unusual fixing rings ?? Any ideas? Then ,a silber Juncker piece (chipped enamel) a lovely halbgrosse Maybauer in 935 silber and a stickpin. Enjoy.Ferg1. Many more to come!

Thanks for all your comments so far,here are some army pilot badge to eyeball ! First , issue examples top left is Juncker and tombak the others are unknown makers ,two in buntmetall one in 800 silber. Next are three silber examples ,two Juncker ( one almost mint with nearly ll the frosting and sparkly bits retained) the other is stamped Maybauer 800 IMO not one of theirs but sold through their outlet probably 1930's. Next (let me know when your getting bored) are some varying size pieces Halbgrosse,prinzen and stickpin. Lastly a little box of delights 30mm silber Godet badge and 18mm EK ,proper silber and iron three piece construction! Observers next! Ferg1.

Heres a weird one to round off the marine badges. Army observer badge in tombak by Maybauer with factory fitted screw-back ,no pin ever fitted.(missing screw plate).Then fire gilded ??? Strange! The badge came direct from a German family who can only remember that the recipient was in a Luftschiffer Crew,the plot thickens !! I cannot believe that someone would mess around with such a rare badge (factory screw-back) to try and enhance its value,so I must assume it was done earlier rather than later.Gilding shows signs of verdigree and wear to highpoints. Interesting talking point. Any clues anyone?? Ferg1.

Ok ,here are some more,this time the flying boys,top two are land pilot badges by Hugo Schaper,left is a solid silver example (rare) has seen a bit of life judging by the wear,next to itis an interesting four piece badge of the same. Badge has been altered to a screw fitting and re-gilded ,I guess after the screw post was soldered on. The screw disc is marked Hansen ,maybe they did the alteration? I think the cross shaped plate was added to give more ' grip ' to the fitting.The main back plate ,when studied closely, shows several ' spin ' marks from various fitting devices. Bottom is a Schaper sea pilot badge,unmarked but definately Schaper. Ferg1.

Here are some marine observer badge variations to look at. Top left is a well used badge by Hugo Schaper of Berlin. Originally a standard pin fixing it has been ' field altered ' to a double screw disc fixing. Next to that is another screw fixing badge in some sort of bunt metall (this badge is in Niemanns 2nd ref.book) has a scratch engraving on reverse ' CZECH ,FahnzS. it too started life as a pin back but now sports a later oval TR plate and screw. Third is a nice hollow two piece Maybauer in 900 silver,marine badges are rare in two piece form, and of course the half-size piece in 935 silver. Ferg1.

Hi ,here are some of my marine aviation badges. First the retired (Errinnerungsabzeichen fur marineflieger). I think these are all four variations of the badge,if anyone nkows of more please let me know! Looking at the fronts the top left is a Schaper example (note strenghening tabs on reverse between top of wreath and crown) top right is a Preissler example. Bottom right is unmarked and left is private purchase in 900 silver. More to come.Ferg1

Thought some of you might enjoy a glimse into my Imperial German aviation badge collection. First up ,four variations of the Errinerungsabzeichen fur Heersluftschiffer. Three are un-marked one is Juncker. All are silvered buntmetall,two have remains of green lacquer on the wreaths. Interestingly, the vertical pin example has, in fact, a 57er pin and catch on a 1930's badge !! Work that one out ! Badge with green and shaped pin is almost certainly from the maybauer outlet. Cloth arm badges are Marine luftschiffer and a rare fieldgrey army example. The army piece has some sort of ' anti-fluffing ' lacquer applied to it, (seen before on marine sleeve patches). Hope you enjoy! Ferg1.

Hi Guys, can anyone shed any light on this badge? (see attached). Badge is stamped brass and 80mm wingspan (same size as TR summer wear breast eagle). Same construction as issue pilot badges gilt wash with some remaining burnishing to highpoints. Has a reasonable amount of wear to front. I think ,obviously marine judging from the crown , gilding etc.. and aviation of some sort.eagle is clutching laurel leaves (victory), anyone care to hazard a guess? Everyone I have spoken to is stumped! Seems too big for a patriotic badge and is not a cap badge judging from the pin set-up. Ferg1.

Hey Mike, no problem. I will post some better pictures when I receive it. I cannot see any problems with it. I have several of this type of pilot badge (silver two piece Juncker) in my collection this one looks text-book ! Ferg1.

Hi Mike, yes the badge is 100% private purchase silver example....... oh ,and yes I was the winning bid !! Ferg1.

Fear not,this piece is authentic war time issue silvered tombac probably from the Juncker outlet.Ferg1

There are more out there ......... in fact there are a couple on Eb*y right now ,marine flieger badges in this case and Halbgrosse form too , look to be from the same stock ! Ferg1.

Hi, I would say that the badge is a modern copy. I have seen several of these in various marine flieger formats. Ferg1

Also noted on certain Bavarian cliche pilot badges, pierced crown type and not often seen.I owned one once but sent it back to the dealer because it was an electro-formed copy,exactly the same but no square punch mark on pin. This Prussian example is obviously the same maker as the detail on the front of badge is the same, aircraft,landscape etc.. Whether we will ever know the maker is unlikely.Ferg1.

Hi Guys, thanks for your kind help, I just bought a 800 silver schnapps toasting cup engraved to ' Henri Georg v Reichmeister 1914 '. It is a nice heavy little cup ,cost me a grand total of 7 euro !! If anyone cares to see it please PM me as I cannot post pictures.Ferg1. Thank-you again .

Hi Guys, this is a long shot but..... does anyone have any info or know of a certain WW1 individual by the name of Henri Georg von Reichmeister ? Possibly a pilot .Thanks in advance,Ferg1.

Hi, this is a lapel pin for the marine sea pilot badge (Abzeichen fur marine seeflieger) instituted in 1915 although the pin is more likely to be post war veteran wear. As the pictures are dark I cannot say if it is original or not. Ferg1.

Hi Guys, just to add my two pence worth, I have a 1914 2nd class example by Godet in solid silver with the reverse marking ' Fur Tapferkeit'.This was awarded only 25 times to royalty only.Godet made 36 pieces in silver. Workmanship is very much more detailed than the 'tapfer und treu' examples with lots of 'sparkly highlights'. I have never seen another one. I found it when I was doing some late night 'dealer surfing' on the internet. A certain well known American dealer had it for sale and listed it as a normal M.Strelitz war cross in silvered bronze! I could not believe this had slipped through the net and at only $190 (book value 1850 euro). The protective laquer on the medal had yellowed a little giving the appearence of silvering worn through to bronze. If any one wants a look at this piece PM me and I will send a pic. Ferg1

Hi guys, happy new year ! Does anyone out there have any badges, awards, pins etc.... that are maker marked Juncker and fairly certain they are attributed to the inter war years ? Primarily 1920's-1933. I would be very interested to see any pictures you have,many thanks Ferg1.

Hi, I would say that the badge is probably OK . There is no 100% way of saying if it is a war time piece or 20's but nice all the same. The 'pip' or ' boulder' you refer to could at worst be a bubble burst on the master mould of an electro formed piece(fake) but i doubt it, is most likely to be flaw/hole in the die through use. Eventually the flaw can get worse and a piece of the die actually breaks off leaving a depression or ' cud ' as it is known in the trade. It is clearly not Juncker (Niemanns reference picture shows reverse side only of Juncker example). Unknown maker and it looks like tombak not silver. These were made in several metals according to availabilty of materials or buyers pocket ! Nice piece and rare too . Ferg1.

Another ' spokeless wheel ' badge ! Ferg1.

Hi Steve, I too have looked at this badge on Mr Weitze's site, I actually handled it at the kassel show 2 weeks ago and it looks alot better in ' the flesh ' than the pictures . IMO I feel it is good, I would say it was 1920's and in almost in untouched condtion. The crown shape on the reverse you refer to is quite OK they vary in that area to a degree,different dies maybe or the way it has been chased around the edges on finishing. I was certainly tempted at the show but I had spent all my cash !! Ferg1. I have pictures of another example the same but in silver,PM me if you want to see this.

Stunning pieces Stan !! Rare items indeed, lovely.Ferg1.

No modifications on my views re. Schaper marks, it is just that the non-serif Schaper marks are rare to find but given everything else about the badge it seems good.I agree that the fake ones have serifs on the name but are not quite right,the rest of the badge normally gives it away anyway, what with the horrible patinated bronze finish and bland features. I own 4 Schaper made badges but only two have pins !! The other two are screw backs. I think that the design of a heavy badge and a relatively weak pin caused alot of 'breaks' ,and as a result one sees quite a few of these badges with non-standard replacement pins and screw devices. As for Bavarian badges............ a sticky subject indeed, seems to be phases when a lot come up for sale within a few weeks then nothing, but they all seem to have one constant ,or nearly always, that is the one spokeless wheel of the undercarriage .They all seem to be this example coming up for sale. I bought a Bavarian pilot badge a while ago which was found in a Lake in Bavaria but in amazing condition ,of course it had spokes in both wheels and many other finer details which the common ' empty wheel ' ones do not. It is perplexing ,but I feel ( which is my opinion) that there are genuine examples of the spokeless wheel type which are 1920's/1930's pieces but they have been heavily faked by the electro-forming process. I think too that the flat backed examples rather than the ray-backed are the safer ones............possibly !! I keep observing the subject. Ferg1.

Serifs are correct on this maker mark ,but there does appear to be another Schaper mark without serifs on the letters. But having said that most makers have more than one variation of MM. so not suprising. Ferg1.