Ferg1

Better pictures,badge looks spot on 100%. Nice solid silver Schaper. I would not like to comment on the engraving though, sadly , no way of proving its originality but a lovely piece. Ferg1.

Hi Stogieman,no I was refering to your Schaper sea pilot badge,the first one that you posted. I have not seen a Schaper sea pilot badge like that before. Normally the pin is crooked outwards at the base of it yours appears to be dead straight and the catch is not the norm,flat metal , they usually are more of a 'D' profile wire. Also the maker mark looks a little odd (could be just the unclear picture) but I do not see any serifs on the H and the S which the Schaper mark has . I have seen a good few Schaper pieces and the style of maker mark, pin shape and set-up and obverse details do not vary to that degree. I also looked through my photo references and found 8 different pics of Schaper sea pilot badges and they were all exactly the same. Maybe yours was made by some other maker and sold through Schaper. I am not saying that your badge is ' dodgy ' but interesting and not what I would expect to see with a Schaper mark,Ferg1

Some interesting marine badges stogiman ,but I feel a little uneasy about the sea pilot badge shown ( first example) I have never seen a sea pilot badge by Schaper like that one,it does not seem anything like the usual examples, pin ,catch, maker mark and obverse detail all seem very different, not one I have seen before by Hugo Schaper.Ferg1.

Hi, it is difficult to judge from the pictures but on first impression I would say that the badge is good. It seems to conform ,from what I can see, to known pieces by HUGO SCHAPER. That maker did ,in fact,produce examples from solid 800 silver and marked them with crescent ,crown and 800.Whether that was war time or 1920's we do not know. The pin catch is in the right position unlike the fakes which are not and the pin itself looks to be right as does the MM . Shows convincing wear and patina . Really I need better pictures to make a 100% judgement but seems OK. Ferg1.

Thanks Ralph, that's interesting reference,Ferg1

Thanks guys for the pictures and info,some great pieces there, anymore???? That is a wonderful FUR TAPFERKEIT first class cross with ' fangs ' and all !! Thanks also to Dave for printing the rolls list of the cross,very interesting. I wonder who got mine? Or maybe it was surplus stock? Ferg1.

Unfortunately I cannot post a picture ,but I have a Turkish war medal (eiserner halbmond) packet. Red stiff paper packet with gold coloured crescent and star logo on the front,triangular opening flap on reverse, approx 75mmx75mm. Ferg1.

Some nice pieces ,guys. Just to up-date on my ' FUR TAPFERKEIT ' example .I have had it silver checked and it turns out that it is solid silver not silvered bronze. So it is an early piece.Ferg1

Hi Ralph,any chance of seeing a pic of the reverse with pin up,mainly the pin actually. That would be interesting. Ferg1.

Hi Dond, what does the reverse inscription read on the Mecklenburg cross, Tapfer und Treue? Ferg1.

Just to add a footnote to this thread ,the maker mark ,although 100% original, is NOT actually consistant with the usual ones seen on pilot badges.Look again and you will see that the Berlin is in capitol letters and the same on pilot bades is in lower case. Just another variation in maker stamps . Ferg1.

Hi Guys,I think that I may have fallen on my feet. The postman has just delivered a package. Contained is a Mecklenburg-Strelitz second class cross (1914) on a combatants ribbon. The ring is marked 'G' , it is silvered bronze which puts it at 1916-1918. The detail is stunning much better than the other one ( also marked 'G' on the ring) that I have. My existing one has 'Tapfer und Treu' as the inscription but the new one has ' FUR TAPFERKEIT 'as the inscription. The lettering has been ' sparkled ' as has the cypher and crown then lacquered to keep the shine ,which it still has. Can any one give me any info on this, I cannot post a pic but if any one can for me that would be great. I have not seen another of this type and read that there were only 25 awarded to nobility and VIP officers. Any info would be great.Ferg1.

Hi Guys, does anyone have a ray-backed two-piece wound badge? I have one in brassed silver ,pin has a tiny ' V ' stamped on it. The only other ray-backed example I have seen is in Niemanns book and that is a screw-back. If any one has an example could they post a picture or two? Many thanks,Ferg1.

Reverse of cross

Hi Guys, thought you might like a look at this cross. Been in my collection a while, not often encountered in a screw-back form. More likely a post war example. Date numbers ,centre and wreath all applied seperately. Marked twice with 925 back plate in form of cross marked 500 and screw device marked 800.Three different silver grades!! Ferg1.

I don't know whether it got as far as being issued or it was put to one side or maybe it was made for a recipient who liked to do hand-stands !!! Ferg1.

Hi Guys,picked this up at a small militaria fair last week, the seller did not notice the error on the cross. 10 points for the first person to spot it !!!!! Seriously ,it is the first one I have seen like this, the quality manager must have been having his tea-break when this one got through!! It shows no sign of having been tampered with recently ,I guess it must of happened occasionally. It made me laugh ! Enjoy. Ferg1.

I am glad that someone else has noticed this cross on ebay,it seems to be making serious cash. Not bad for a badly converted second class piece. I checked ,just to make sure, the cross is only 40mm x40mm the real thing should be 45mmx45mm.If one looks to the reverse you can still see the remains of the pebbled finish on the left arm , they didn't quite grind it all away!! STAY AWAY !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Ferg1.

The photo in the online catalogue is a little blurry but on the whole it looks OK. I have an issue Juncker gunner badge in my collection ( three rivet reverse) which interestingly has the same eagle as this one. There are two slightly different styles of eagle, ones normally (allbeit rare) seen on the silver two piece examples and a slightly different one for the pressed out issue piece, the differences are very minor, slightly different angle of the eagles head and different beak shape. I think that the price would be too much for me at the moment,I am happy with my issue piece for now.Ferg1.

Hi,anyone know any of the prices realised in the Thies latest auction ?? In particular the Cased Juncker air gunner badge (lot 234) thanks,Ferg1.

These are known fakes/copies/reproductions or whatever, they are seen regularly on ebay etc.. Leave em alone ,there bad for your wallet!! Ferg1.

Hi guys, IMO this badge is 100%. In my years of collecting I have seen this variant of Juncker marking several times on badges that are without question 'good'. It is ,admittedly ,far more unusual than the ' normal' ones but it is only the crescent that is different ,the 800 and name are the same as usual. Check the details on the obverse with another C E Juncker badge ( if you have one) and the details are exactly the same .Same goes for the back plate and pin. Some nice frosting remains too. Ferg1.

Actually, I am not convinced that Ltn Julius Buckler in Sanke 585 is wearing a cut-out example,looking again at the picture it may well be just a patinated background ( sky area) ,hard to say for sure,but as I said, there is definately a period picture of a pilot with a cut-out badge on a previous thread (the ' other ' forum ,I think)Ferg1.

Hi guys (sorry for the above posting with no comments in ,my error). Annyway here is my opinion. It is difficult to see exactly what the badge is it looks like a Flieger-Erinnergsabzeichen ( retired badge) more like an eagle shape than a plane, but then again if one looks at the Sanke card book by Charles Woolley there are two other shots of Ltn. Rumey and his pilot badge does seem to have some sort of patinated background which tends to highlight the Taube as do other pilots in the book.The private purchase badges came with an option to have a patinated finish and we see this quite often,see von Althaus in the same book as above.Look ,if you own a copy of the sanke card book at Julius Buckler sanke no.585, sure looks like a cut-out badge to me!! I do have a contemporary picture of a pilot wearing a cut-out pilot badge but I am dammed if I can find it!! I am sure that there is a thread on the wehrmacht forum with the same picture in from way back. Regards,Ferg1