J Temple-West

Catch.

Reverse.

Up for review is this minesweeper badge by the maker F.W Assmann. Made of Tombak with a fire-gilt wreath and raised maker mark. These badges have been copied, but to date I?ve only come across cast examples that are far from the quality of originals, have a pin that?s close but not close enough and a different style of catch. Assmann is not well known for producing KM badges, so finding one by this maker raises the question? did they make any others? So, it?s over to you KM wallers? Obverse.

Hi Rosenberg, My personal feeling would be that this is the same mark as found on fake pilot?s badges. The ?Deumer? mark, on both early and late badges, remained the same throughout the time of production, so unless ?Deumer? produced a new maker mark stamp specifically for their glider badges, I would have to conclude that this is either a post war marking, or the entire badge is a fake. Is it possible to see the front of the badge and some close-ups of the hinge/catch? For comparison, here are some examples of maker marks from both early (top) and late (middle) Luftwaffe badges by ?Deumer?, with the one you show at the bottom. I'm sure that Mike K or Tim Calvert would have further information on these gliders and would be only too happy to give some input.

Hi Frank, Is there any chance of a close-up of the badge + Is the packet maker stamped?

As with the standard bearer.

The Luftwaffe pilot is one that I'd dearly love to lay my hands on..

A few from my reference files..

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Typical "Allach" marks.

+4

+3

+2

+1

In January 1936, the SS Porzellan-manufaktur Allach was created in Munich under the control of Heinrich Himmler. Well known artists such as Professor T. Karner, Professor W. Zögel, Obermeier, Förster, and others were contracted to work at the factory. Due to a rapid expansion of the enterprise, the factory was not able to meet production, so in October 1937 a part of production was moved to the SS-operated Dachau concentration camp. Starting from 1941, and after the move of the entire factory to Dachau, the company employed German civilians and a large number of prisoners in the production of art and porcelain. At one point there over 200 items listed in their catalogue, ranging from small candlestick holders to the larger pieces, including entire dinner services, mounted horsemen (31cm high) rostrum eagles (80cm high), etc. The animal porcelain, such as the eagle, horse and dogs were the most popular products of the Allach factory. These pieces were produced to supply special gift items intended for loyal SS supporters. Here are a few items for my collection to give some idea as to the type of items that the Allach factory produced.

Very nice, paul. I look forward to seeing some more of your collecton.

How did I miss this fantastic display of yours, Jos. My apologies... and compliments.

Well, in short, I like this badge.. Of course this is only my opinion. With all the tooling and processes involved in producing a badge of such quality, I just can?t see that fakers would go to all the trouble and expense of producing a badge that we see so little of in the market place. The obverse of the badge looks ?Osang?. The reverse; correct catch/catch plate. Rivets; not much to compare them with but look period. The wide pin/hinge; not unknown for Osang to use such a setup. Finishing (file marks); typical Osang?. But the thing that wins it for me is the maker mark? Seeing that ?Osang? mark is probably one of the most favoured manufactures to be copied by fakers, (to date, I?ve not seen a faked maker mark that comes close to the original) this mark looks to be totally correct. The characteristics I look for on an original mark, amongst others, are that the ?O?s? look like ?B?s?? this mark has this characteristic, a hard thing to reproduce. All in all? A good looking badge. I would say that your gamble has paid off, Kurt. Posted, are maker marks from a known original (top) and Kurt?s example (bottom).

As requested, Jos.

A few Juncker pieces for comparison.

Ah ha! The old ?Juncker? Vs the rest debate? As far as pilot?s badges are concerned, I wouldn?t disagree, although I still think that, in their own ways, Juncker & Assmann are on a par. When it comes to a series, however, my preference is squarely behind the name of Assmann?design, construction, finishing and the pure iconography of their pieces still gives me that extra bit of pleasure, especially the early pieces.

Ditto, with bells on.

For many years this maker mark was thought to have been used by the firm Hermann Wernstein - Jena-L?bstedt As of 2007, evidence now suggests that it is more likely to be for the firm E. Ferdinand Wiedmann - Frankfurt.

Here you go, Peter. Maker mark for the company of 'Hermann Wernstein Jena-Lobstedt'.