Tom D.

Hi John, very nice IAB in great condition. These FLLs are very nicely detailed, congrats on a very fine addition. Tom

John 20:27 Tom

Here is another one, marked Juncker like yours. If you compare the maker marks on these fakes with an original, you will also see differences. Nothing but a well made fake. Tom

And another, this time marked for B&NL.

Now that you know what to look for, you can spot this fake easily and I have seen several, with different maker marks. Here is an identical one marked for JMME:

Moving to the wreath, you can also see small differences in the leaf shapes and also the berry and acorn locations and detail compared to an original Juncker badge. The most notable of these is the vein alignment of the 3rd leaf up from the bottom; on original Juncker badges the veins are noticably offset whereas on the fake they are pretty much lined up. As with the eagle, there are many other small differences to be seen, but this is the most visual. Tom

Rick, ask and ye shall receive. Here is a comparison of an original Juncker Pilot Badge (J2) on the left, and your fake on the right. There are many differences to be seen on both the eagle and the wreath, but the quickest and easiest difference to see is the detail and shape of the tail feathers. On the original, there is virtually no feather fletching to be seen and each feather shape is different. Whereas your badge has a very detailed fletching and very consistent length to the feathers. Just look around the rest of the eagle, specifically at the exact shape of each feather and you will see many other differences. Tom

Hi guys, Sorry to say, but this is a fake in my opinion. Similar to original Juncker's at first glance, but study it in depth and you will find many differences to originals in small details and reverse hardware and even the maker mark. Tom

Nice clasps! The last one looks like an unmarked Osang. Tom

Hi guys, I can only agree, a fine original Juncker. Too bad about the missing catch though. Tom

Hi guys, John, are you sure about this observer is a fake? Looks like a fine original to me, but the rivets are messed with. The fighter is a nice original. Tom

Very, very nice Robert. A beauty for sure, very hard to find JFS clasps in the silver grade! Tom

I would buy that book in a heartbeat Prosper! I think it is always interesting to hear some of the sorted history that has taken place in our hobby, especially the things that have happened before younger collectors like me got into the hobby. Very interesting...and disturbing at the same time. Thanks for a brief history lesson! Tom

Nice edition from the MAX 2011 Tom. Great to see you again, looking forward to the SOS already Tom

Hi Alec, I can only agree with John and William, a very fine original Juncker. Great condition too, I would jump on it if the price were right. Tom

Hi guys, I can only agree, not an original LGAB in my opinion. Tom

Hi KDVR, This is an original IAB, made by Deumer later in the war IMO. Tom

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Hi guys, I was wondering if anyone could tell me a little about the medals and ribbons this soldier is wearing? This is my friends grandfather and I would like to give him some information, but this is really not my hobby area. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks guys. Tom

Hi Knight, I agree with the others, a reproduction made in the 1960s or 70 based on that reverse hardware. Tom

Very nice birds John, always nice to see the early ones! Thanks for showing, real beauties. Especially love the Deumers, rare indeed. Tom

Hi guys, I am on the fence with this one. Ultimately though, I think it is an original GWL badge, but that has been refinished to be an UQAG. John, have you ever seen an UQAG badge from any other maker other than Deumer? Firstly, I agree with John that the eagle is a typical ROAG, but with the bolts filed off. The silver finish doesn't look like what I would expect from other GWL products, namely their AG and ROAG wreaths. Secondly, the black on the wreath also is not what I expect to see from GWL, looks too matt and subdued. Compare this to the finish they used on their typical ROAG and AG eagles, as well as their Para badge wreaths. Not consistent with the finish on those badges in my opinion. And the rivets don't look to be textbook GWL. So my thought is that the eagle was removed, refinished and then put back onto the wreath with new rivets and given a look to simulate correct GWL rivets. But they don't look quite right. Steve, some closeups of the rivets, and the hinge and catch with the pin open would give us more information to go on. Thanks Tom

Well the hardware is most certainly a candidate for a "Gablonz-based" firm such as "AS in Triangle" or Rudolf Karneth, RSS, etc. Several other as of yet unknown maker used ball hinges like the MK IAB makers. Tom

Hi guys, I have to say that I agree with Mr. Calvert here on Shane's badge, the obverse and reverse details looks soft to me. The eagles face and chest feathers are not as distinct as on original OMs in my opinion. Also, the reverse edges seem to lack the hand filing that is characteristic of badges by this maker. Tom