Fake Test

[Matt L]

That's the only image I have- it's from a sale site, so is what was there. The material is probably zinc since aluminum or Nirostahl don't have so many odd ways to oxidize, etc. in the ground.

But no, the problems are not the corrosion, or the disc itself.

Indeed sometimes these can be telling; I've seen fake discs with misaligned Trennschlitzen (the 3 slits) or cord holes- these all should always be straight and line up- and fakers are very good at replicating natural age, so that's usually not so easy to spot save in the case where an original, corroded disc is used and marked today- that usually results in a 'halo' around each letter where the hammerstrike on the stamp shakes some of the surface material off, and the reverse is likewise affected. If you see 'halos' around letters, that's usually a sign to be wary.

So you are right to examine these things to be sure, but the problems I'm illustrating are different still And they're not tricks or weirdly obscure things that no average collector could not discover for himself.

[Jan]

That's the only image I have- it's from a sale site, so is what was there. The material is probably zinc since aluminum or Nirostahl don't have so many odd ways to oxidize, etc. in the ground.

But no, the problems are not the corrosion, or the disc itself.

Indeed sometimes these can be telling; I've seen fake discs with misaligned Trennschlitzen (the 3 slits) or cord holes- these all should always be straight and line up- and fakers are very good at replicating natural age, so that's usually not so easy to spot save in the case where an original, corroded disc is used and marked today- that usually results in a 'halo' around each letter where the hammerstrike on the stamp shakes some of the surface material off, and the reverse is likewise affected. If you see 'halos' around letters, that's usually a sign to be wary.

So you are right to examine these things to be sure, but the problems I'm illustrating are different still And they're not tricks or weirdly obscure things that no average collector could not discover for himself.

Discs are not my favorite and I guess you know why I have one German can I send for you to take a look?

Kiitos Jan

[Matt L]

LOL Yes, indeed they're a minefield and yet can be so very interesting- such is the trouble with collecting them. My intent is to provide various tutorials and examples over time that I hope will defuse some of those mines at least a little such that interested folks may feel better about Erkennungsmarken in general

Absolutely you and anyone is more than welcome to send me photos of discs you have questions about- I'm happy to help out where I can.

[Jan]

LOL Yes, indeed they're a minefield and yet can be so very interesting- such is the trouble with collecting them. My intent is to provide various tutorials and examples over time that I hope will defuse some of those mines at least a little such that interested folks may feel better about Erkennungsmarken in general

Absolutely you and anyone is more than welcome to send me photos of discs you have questions about- I'm happy to help out where I can.

This is one I got with another deal from a Finnish collector... I have to say I think its a real mystery. Have kept in my suspected fakes box

Rgds Jan

[Matt L]

I can't quite make out the text but it does seem to read 'Paris' on the right. It's not a military unit disc to be sure- but it's somewhat familiar. I know I've seen something like it but I can't recall where or in what context. There were huge numbers of discs issued for all kinds of people from factory workers to terror bombing evacuee children- and the non-military stuff is a whole different area. I suspect this is a Generalgouvernment type disc but since my area is combat units, I can't say for sure. Given its condition is so poor, I'm doubtful it's a fake- it's not worth much in that state, and since fakers make their garbage to sell, it makes no sense to produce near valueless fakes.

[gooseandspoons]

so what is it matt, i'm dying here!
i got some questions about the holes.
will there only be three holes on all tags?

[Jan]

I can't quite make out the text but it does seem to read 'Paris' on the right. It's not a military unit disc to be sure- but it's somewhat familiar. I know I've seen something like it but I can't recall where or in what context. There were huge numbers of discs issued for all kinds of people from factory workers to terror bombing evacuee children- and the non-military stuff is a whole different area. I suspect this is a Generalgouvernment type disc but since my area is combat units, I can't say for sure. Given its condition is so poor, I'm doubtful it's a fake- it's not worth much in that state, and since fakers make their garbage to sell, it makes no sense to produce near valueless fakes.

Thank you so much, I´ll put in another box They are the good, the bad and the ugly. This goes into the cathegory the "ugly" . Its beeb cleaned to over extent.

Kiitos (thanks) Jan

[Matt L]

Ei kestä Jan (I don't really know any Finnish, I looked that up )- I wish I could have been of more help. Indeed it's likely just ugly and could possibly be cleaned to some extent- experiment on the back to see what you can accomplish.

I'll answer the question later today goose- I want to give everyone a chance and see if any other interesting ideas come to light.

Yes, there are only 3 holes on formally-issued discs, save those of the Kriegsmarine, which are unique in size and only have both two- and three-holed styles. There are field-made and odd discs that have more holes, fewer Trennschlitzen and other strange details, but those are rare and have their own issues with respect to authentication.

The one difference you might see is the size of the two neck cord holes- in rare instances on zinc and aluminum discs they can be larger than usual and than the single hole at the bottom; on the Nirostahl (stainless steel) form they're normally larger as those are ideally meant to be worn on a chain instead of a cord. There are examples of the steel type with the usual holes, but they're not the norm.

[gooseandspoons]

what about the antiquing of the imprinted letters? or that there is no wear of the stamped letters?

[Matt L]

That is a smart thing to look for as it'd indicate a modern stamp job on an old blank, however in this case the image is, I think, insufficiently good to tell whether or not this might be the case here; in any event, that's not one of the two definite problems. Good try though.