Pilot's Badge and Zeppelin Badge
Hey guys. So, I have a friend that I buy a good bit off of and he has an outstanding WWI collection. There are two pieces that I'm trying to get off him. They look good to me but I always like to get second opinions on big purchase items. Both are unmarked. Hopefully the pictures are good enough. He is offering to sell them both to me for $900, $500 for the Pilot's badge and $400 for the Zeppelin. Any input is greatly appreciated.
Thanks
Sorry, but I would not touch either of these with a ten-foot pole.
Zep badge looks like a way post-WW2 Souval copy. Worth about $20 or $25 as a "filler" for someone.
Bavarian pilot badge is no good either.
These badges are one of the biggest minefields for WW1 collectors. Many collectors have been stung badly by the countless assortment of bad Imperial German flight badges. There are 2-good reference books out on them: the Carsten Baldes book "The Aircrew Badges and Honor Prizes of the Flying Troops 1913 to 1920", and the Stephen Previtera book "Imperial Sky".
There are also numerous threads on the WAF forum under Imperial Militaria, showing good and bad examples of pilot badges & zep aircrew badges, that make for a great study.
A real Bavarian Pilot badge will currently cost between $1,000 to $2,500 full retail, and a real Zeppelin Aircrew badge runs several thousand dollars retail.
Best Regards,
Alan
Alan, Thanks for your time and information. Luckily I didn't drop $900... I will look into those books
Hi, I like collecting some WW1 items too. I thus far have avoided buying any of these badges because of the rarity and the huge amount of quality fakes. If I ever feel I cant live without one, I think some quite intense, in depth study, would have to be done before laying down the kind of cash these demand. Ive always found it strange that these are so widely faked being the TR is so much more popular with collectors.
Similar Threads
Posting Permissions
.
Bookmarks