Ebay PlM....probable post war, not wartime

[Les]

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewI...em=170305862789

I've asked for two additional photos from the seller to determine if it's real, or possibly a cast copy of an original. (Cast examples with almost all of the characteristics of a real one have surfaced, so photos alone can be dangerous in drawing conclusions about these blue thingies.)

All four of the eagles are cross-hatched. Wartime examples with cross-hatching seem to have one or more of the eagles with this feature, but not on all four eagle breasts. All breasts retouched seems to be a feature of post-war manufactured pieces.

Slightly over two years ago, a fellow forum member contacted me about a piece that surfaced in the NE. I was sent some photos of the image, given an estimated price, and told that I might be able to get it if I was interested. That example was not being sold by a "widow" but a married couple, one of them arelative of the man who had it in his collection. A well-known dealer in the NE who "had to have it" went after it with a vengeance and got it.

I suspect this may be the very same piece.

Les

Edited February 25, 2009 by Les

[Les]

All four of the eagles are cross-hatched. Wartime examples with cross-hatching seem to have one or more of the eagles with this feature, but not on all four eagle breasts. All breasts retouched seems to be a feature of post-war manufactured pieces.

The seller sent additional photos. The images weren't as sharp or detailed as the ones shown on ebay. The details were clear enough to see one of the characteristic die flaws that it should have.

The cross-hatching on the breasts of all of the eagles and on both sides, suggests this piece is not wartime, but very likely made shortly after the end of the war. Extensive die wear is clearly evident in the close up photos shown on ebay. This example closely matches the post-war example posted by Tim Tezer on this site, which also had cross-hatching on all of the eagle breasts.

Caveat: Cast copies with cross-hatched breasts rather than feathers have surfaced so photos alone are not solid proof a PlM is "good" until actually examined in hand, and with a reasonably good hand lens of at least 10x, preferably better. There is a difference between saying something -looks- good, and -is- good. That is a distinction that should be always remembered.

Les