Reproduction Atlantic Star?

[Kano]

Hello all,

I bought this Atlantic star from ebay, I'm pretty sure its a reproduction but I wanted a second opinion, as it seems to have quite a lot of detail. I only paid £13.50 so if it is a copy then its not too much of a lesson. I'll try and get the money back though, on principle!

The most concerning part is the general gilt colouring, the reverse side sharp metal areas, and the stippling background on the lettering feels clumsy. The crown has a good level of detail however. Its puzzling me, as usually its quite obvious when these medals are reproductions. This one seems to have been made quite well.

Apologies for the huge pictures. I wanted to show as much detail as possible.

Thanks for any comments!

Edited October 2, 2012 by Kano

[Bilco]

Hi Kano,

The discussion on this site - http://www.lancs.ac.uk/staff/hartleyi/acediscussion.htm - might help. It's mainly for the Aircrew Europe Star, but the comments on the crown, star and ring should read across.

Bill

[Kano]

Thanks for the link. It's clearly a reproduction, the stippling is poor, the ribbon ring is copper and the ring lug is oversize. I've bought a lemon!

A good lesson however, look at the pictures carefully!

[Guest pikemedals]

hi kano ebay is a minefield for repro medals.once i got a france & germany star of some bloke off ebay in the picture it was a original star.when the medal came it was a out right fake.i got my money back in the end paul

[Guest pikemedals]

i remember a few years ago went to a bootsale a bloke i got some ww1 medals off him try to sell me a fake air crew europe star to me .told him it was a fake.and that night my mate phone me to tell me that he got a air crew europe star so cheap at a bootsale.ask my mate what the seller look like.it was the same seller and the medal was a fake.even day my mate will not tell me what he paid for the star and when i tell i been to a bootsale and got a few bits. first words are. do you see that seller who sold me that star !. that must of been over 5 years now he never got over it.paul

[Kano]

It was a bit daft of me to bid on it to be fair, I didnt look closely enough at the picture. I just saw it cheap and bid. Daft considering I've been collecting for a couple of years and have 11 other WW2 stars, so its not as if I dont know what to look for!

I doubt I'll ever get an Air Crew Europe unless its rock solid genuine. Way too many fakes. You see people bidding £100+ on pretty obvious fakes, even those with all prongs of the letter "E" the same length, blatant repros . Scary.

[Guest pikemedals]

kano i told my mate if you go to a bootsale or a antque fair take a original 1939-45 star with you so you can compare it to any stars you may buy from a non medal dealer.went to a antque shop once saw a box full of stars all 12 pounds each all brand new and look like they just been made !.a old trick i seen is to put a old original ribbon on a fake star and try to sell it on as a original star.some time you see on ebay are the late issue stars look at the ring for the ribbon it much larger then the original star.i think they are made from the same dies and issue from the 1970s or 1980s onwards.not worth as much as the ones issue after the war.

Edited October 2, 2012 by pikemedals

[Mervyn Mitton]

The present price for an Atlantic Star is around 35 pounds ($ 53) - the most expensive Star after the Air Crew

Europe. Worth their while to make these fakes. Mervyn

[Kano]

You're thinking on a Pacific star there Mervyn. Atlantic stars are around £15-25. Pacific stars are £25-35..

Trying to concentrate on medals other than WW2 campaign ones at the minute. Considering a crimea with sebastopol bar if I can get one at a good price. Huge number of repro ones of that!

[Guest pikemedals]

what make me laugh on the reproducion stars that worcestershire company that make the stars.sell them for about £12.50.each. when i can get off a dealer like fred walland who sell a original 1939-45 star for £7 and africa star for a £10.why make them ?

Edited October 4, 2012 by pikemedals

[Guest pikemedals]

talk about a crimea medal on the last baldwin acution. a medal that was been erased and renamed and been reconstituted. renamed to light brigade charger hammer price was £800. what am i missing on that one.

Edited October 4, 2012 by pikemedals

[peter monahan]

"i can got to a dealer like fred walland who sell a original 1939-45 star for £7 and africa star for a £10.why make them ?"

Some people would rather steal L5.00 than earn L15.00! Not all the fakers out there are either good at it or very bright. If the stuff is being churned out in 'the east' - either the orient or the former Iron Curtain countries, the guy who made it may only get a couple of shillings, so even flogging them round boot sales will make a profit for the seller.

And, sadly, the fakes are getting both more numerous and better quality. I re-enact the Napoleonic War period, specifically 1812-15, over her in North America and the belt plates, buttons and uniforms we have made for the hobby do appear on sale as originals, even in circumstances where one would think it very obvious that they can't possibly be real. To quote my daughter, "Evil will always win because good is stupid." Honesty and naivety are sadly handicapped when dealing with crooks! There are also a huge number of people out there who simply don't know enough. I've known collectors of 20-30 years experience who've never cracked a book on the subject, relying instead on 'gut feelings' and the advice of 'my buddy John'

That's why this forum and others like it are so valuable! It will be a sad day when some of the real experts stop posting on the frauds for fear of helping the fakers improve but, sadly, even before then people will continue to get burned because they haven't doen their homework. Been there, still emberassed! :(

Edited October 4, 2012 by peter monahan

[Mervyn Mitton]

Kano - the latest Medal Year Book shows Atlantic Stars at 30 - 35 Pounds.

[Guest pikemedals]

Kano - the latest Medal Year Book shows Atlantic Stars at 30 - 35 Pounds.

i say most uk dealer want about £30 for a atlantic star.

[Kano]

I've bought two Atlantic stars - one I paid £14.35 for, and one I paid £26 for, but that also included a 1939-45 star and a war medal.

Maybe I've just got a eye for a bargain!

Dealer prices are always OTT. I saw an Australian Service Medal for £80 on Sunday at an antiques fair - a nice WW2 medal however about £30-40 overpriced in my opinion.

[Guest pikemedals]

hi kano. on ebay you can pick up some ww2 medal groups on the cheap.last week i won on ebay 2 africa stars one come with a north-africa clasp, a 1939 star and italy star all for under £30 off someone.but it look like the parcel gone missing in the post my luck hey.i was looking at worcestershire medals it sell all ww2 copy stars at £10.50.but it sell the war medal and the defence medal at £17.50 each.why would anyone pay £17.50 for a copy war medal when you can look around and get a real one for a £5.

[Kano]

£10.50 for a copy? Thats crazy, if you shop around you can pick up most of the WW2 stars for that!

Its a shame that you can pick up medals for £5, but they made so many of them, and with no naming to make them interesting to the collector.