Tom D.

Hi guys, Very interesting photo Gordon. Do you have the full size version of picture? Any dates or anything with the photo? Thanks Tom

Hi guys, Dorr states that one of the Luftwaffe recipients was to receive the new award from Goering himself on January 2nd, 1945, but at the last minute it was realized that this new award was not available. Dorr states that at that time, it was still in the prototype stage, which leaves open the possiblity that there were a few struck. By the end of the war, the soldier had never received the LW version, always wearing the army version. Also, there are many period photographs of LW guys wearing the typical Army version, I have yet to see one with the LW version. Tom

Hi Nan, Both great original IABs! I believe that we have discovered recently that these Daisy IABs & PABs were made by Deumer. You can check out the German Combat Awards.com forum of Wehrmacht Awards forum to check me on that, but I believe that these are Deumer. Nice Badge nontheless. Tom Close Combat Clasp Book - Now for Sale! www.papjay.com/order.html

Hi guys, I am very happy and proud to announce that the Close Combat Clasp books are now on sale!!! Please go to the order page of: http://www.papjay.com/order.html and place your order. Remember if you are a paying member to the GCA forum, you will receive a 15% discount. The books were printed in Belgium and will be shipped from Belgium. I have gotten many requests for signed copies of the book, but this is not really feasible since I am in the US and I assumed that many of you guys would rather have the books in hand earlier and quicker and not wait to have my signature on it. Due to the continued requests, I have decided that I will have a limited number of books (30) sent to me from Belgium to the US. I will sign and number these books (1-30) and will be happy to do it if people want to wait the extra time, I would estimate that it would take an extra week or so to get to you. These will be available for an additional $10 above the actual price of the book and will be an additional shipping charge since we have to package and ship them 2 times. If you want one of these Limited Copies, please just email me the request instead of ordering straight from the website at tdurante@empireeng.com Thanks guys, hope you enjoy the book! Tom http://www.papjay.com/order.html

Hi Hardy, I would be very surpised if any close combat clasps made it into the Stalingrad pocket at all. Although the clasp looks like an original JFS CCC. Due to the retroactive counting of combat days for guys in Russia, some soldiers were immediately eligible for the CCC in bronze (and silver for that matter) at the time of the awards introduction on Nov. '42. Even so, no award documents have been found earlier than April of 1943, a full 3 months after Stalingrad fell to the Soviets. Additionally, this is a 2nd pattern JFS clasp, which would put its production in the late 1943 and onwards period, so very unlikely it was found anywhere near Stalingrad. Tom

Hi Billy, You have a nice, original Close Combat Clasp there in my opinion. There is very strong evidence that these were made by Steinhauer & Luck. Nice original, hold on to it. Tom

Hi Ben, This is a common reproduction. Unfortunately it is of good quality and many unsuspecting collectors fall for it because of its good quality. Nevertheless, it is a reproduction. Tom

Hi guys, Many of you guys may know that I have written a book on the Close Combat Clasp (Nahkampfspange). It is currently at the printers and is set to release to the public on November 15th, 2007. Please check out the following website link for information about the book. If interested, please email me at tdurante@empireeng.com to be added to the pre-order list and to be notified when updates are available. Make sure you click at the bottom of the page, and you will be able to view some screen shots from the book. Pascal is a true master at setting these things up, the method for viewing the screenshots is just unbeatable! Only 28 days to go to release! http://www.papjay.com/newrelease.html Tom

Hi Richard, I chalk it up to the German's intense attention to detail and proclivity toward intricate award design. Just look the the German Cross. Although the central motif area, as view from the obverse does have a sort of 3 dimension look to it, it can be accomplished without the need of a separate backplate. There exists a late war clasp that has the backplate area not cut out on the reverse, but looks the same as those with a separate backplate, when viewed from the obverse. As far as strength goes, I can only say that it probably weakened the clasp rather than make it stronger. There are certain AGMuK clasps that utilize a blue backplate, which does add a bit of relief, but not enough to really warrant a cut out for the backplate in my opinion. Tom D.

Hi Paul, Sorry I didn't see you post in this thread sooner, I rarely check this site. Anyway, yes, I agree, the RS CCC is very much a reproduction, but I would still like to see a closeup of the obverse if you don't mind. I am trying to put a timeline together on the fake RS CCC that will help us in determining which RS CCCs are the actual wartime originals. Thanks Tom D.

Hi Paul, Would you mind posting closeup obverse and reverse pics of the CCC? Thanks Tom D.

Hi guys, It looks like it may be an original, with a repaired setup. The soft details and edges and "casting look" are perfectly typical for a Juncker CCC. I also like the crimping style and it is a match to originals. The fakes are getting much better lately and this may just be a very good casting of an original. Either way, the pins are definately not original to the clasp. Don, what flaw are you talking about on the obverse? Tom D.

Hi Jacques, I know exactly the fake you describe and they can be found at the big US shows. It is based on the F&BL design. I handled one at the SOS 2 years ago and when I put the magnet to the reverse the backplate flew out of the clasp on my magnet! The rivet was not a rivet at all, but a separate blob of metal simply glued on to the back of the backplate. Luckily the seller didn't happent see it and I quickly stuck it back in place and moved on. Tom D.

Hi Chris, There was an article in the "International Militaria" magazine, I think from 2001 or so that showed several of these clasps, apparently all named to the recipients. There were supporting documents in the article as well, and I believe it was written by Manfred Dorr. These are pretty well accepted nowadays, but I know of many older collectors that share your view. Is there any evidence that these are post war production? In viewing many pictures, they appear to share the same obverse die as typical zinc Juncker clasps. Tom D.