Austria-Hungary A new generation of fakes

[Elmar Lang]

Hello,

I regret to inform that on the market are appearing some fake breast stars of the Franz Josef Orden (Commander's type), of a relatively good quality.

The rays are made of cast silver, while the centrepiece is made of gold and enamels; on the reverse there is the escutcheon of Mayer's S?hne, Vienna; more the piece is struck with the "Diana's head" silver mark and the "VM" one. These marks are also fake.

The overall appearance of these stars is quite good, although lacking of the accurate finish one should expect from a piece made in the late 19th- early 20th Century. All the pieces observed have a dark patina (most probably, chemically applied).

I've seen two such pieces in Kassel and one in Milan, this one, sold from an auction house of Trento, Italy, promptly given back to the sellers, as soon as the fake has been detected. It's worth to be noted that the sellers accepted the return immediately, with no discussion.

An advanced colletor won't fall in error, since he knows how originals are made, but I think that a young collector who would like to make a "higher step", could have a very bad surprise.

I hope I'll be able to post some pictures soon. In the meanwhile, did anyone see any suspicious star of the Franz Josef Orden?

Best wishes,

Elmar Lang

[new world]

How about this star? Is it real?

[new world]

reverse

[new world]

measures 10 cm x 8.6 cm.

Edited June 29, 2012 by new world

[Ulsterman]

Grrrr....you know, if they can still make fake medals this well, it really is a shame that they can not make better versions of the actual awards they still hand out- like the Bundeskreuz usw.

[dond]

Thanks for the heads up Enzo.

[new world]

Do you guys think this star is real?