Fake Challenge VII

[Matt L]

Next, I read on this forum, and I must apologize, I could not find the post...about the broken lower case "a" being a give away for a fake. I see on this tag, a broken lower case "r" and "t".
Are there fakes out there with this aspect? Or is this normal wear on the punch?

Good spot that its similar, but it isn't the same 'r'- it really does look just like wear on the stamp.

I also see one of the abbreviation dots is more squarish than the others. Not sure if this is a hint to a fake -because why would the records person have two punches for the same thing? or if it was an awl type of punch, why would one be different that the rest?
-or was it a double strike?

Actually all the dots are a little different and appear to have bee done with a really pointy object- a nail or a centrepunch or something; it's not an indication of any problem though. None is square though- it must be an illusion in the image.

There is another point that leads me to believe that this original tag has been tampered with would be the wear marks through the holes that have a chain or cord pass through. Ive been trying to think how a cord would pass through there and mark the disc like that... at the top, and bottom of the hole..?

Ah, another good spot- the wear is abnormal. Usually you'd find the marks facing one another on one side, and facing up on the other, or somtimes facing up and angled in a bit on both sides, depending on how the Halsschnur (neck cord) was strung; in this case there are two possibilites, because I do think the wear is authentic: either the cord was strung one way for a while, the restrung (since cords did wear out and replacement was common) the opposite way, thus each pattern was worn on the metal; or it was on a chain that was looped such that its flat edges left both marks on each hole. I tend to believe it's the latter since the wear is remarkably even and there seems almost a flat edge facing up and in just as would be expected for a looped chain. I've seen this on a few discs- it's not common, but not extremely rare either.

also...it seems odd that on this particular tag, there was enough space remaining for an HG to be put in, and it still looks spaced out correctly. Could the tag have been erased at that spot, or filled in, and the HG put over top? The one G looks again like a double strike, or something else happened there..?

No, there was just a bit of space after the second line- it seems that the stamper simply started at the left rather than trying to centre things vertically. The G is just an ugly stamp LOL