SS PZ GREN REG NORGE disc

[slados28]

Opinions on this one? It seems that this is not the most common font (?) but I've seen one other of this type getting the nod of approval in another thread (well, that was on WAF) --- seller is reliable from my past experiences with him/them but I just want to make sure that it's actually a good one before completely sealing the deal, so to speak

[ww2relichunter]

i like this one i think its a good original !!

[Matt L]

I think it's tough to say- unless one has another example that's 100% provably real, it's impossible to say for sure if a disc is real, so the most you can ever say is it looks to be so; and for that I personally not only have to have no problems, but actually see good things. Unfortunately, I have a couple of problems with this one- the numbers are EXTREMELY similar if not identical to a style very common on fakes: tall, narrow and with straight sides on numbers like '0'. And I can't say I've ever seen this form of number on an original disc- there's always at least a little curvature, or it's shorter. Here are two fakes both with a disturbingly similar '0' and '8':




If that weren't enough concern, I have seen what appear to be original examples of discs from this unit and they're both stamped with dedicated full-text stamps- i.e., 'SS-Pz. Gren. Rgt. Norge' in its entirety, not individual letters. One has the roll number 606 so is very close to this one:



They could have started with individual letters and moved to an industrially-produced single stamp type, but that huge difference plus the dubious numbers suggest it's far more likely the one for sale isn't real- or at least it'll always be extremely questionable. Given how many fakes of Norge units there are- they are quite common- I'd be far more inclined to believe it's just another fake and there'd have to be irrefutable proof its real for me to believe it's real...

[Gunny Hartmann]

No sign of any damaged surface patina though, so if it's a fake it's an old fake!...

[Matt L]

If it's real corrosion- and it does look real enough, which is another part of the problem LOL

[slados28]

Thank you for the opinons and input, guys!

I actually agree with most everything that's been said upon further review. Here's a strange twist re. this type/particular tag though: the other one I mentioned having seen that was posted on WAF has the same numbers, font and everything --- it would seemingly be the other half of this very tag (or? Going by the number having been assigned to one particular soldier here... is this correct?). What are the odds? This one was supposedly found in a "Soviet bunker"/"near of river Narva, in Russia" according to the OP on WAF... emphasis on supposedly here, the OP obviously did not find this himself.

Comparison, first the one from WAF and then the other half in question here:




I'm thinking I'll have to break the news to the seller at this point, definitely not going for it under these circumstances...

[Matt L]

Yup, that's the other half of the same disc alright- and yes, one number is for one soldier only. If they're claimed to have come from different locations, that's a serious problem for sure. It's not unheard-of that two halves of a broken disc can be found- fellow member Jan has done this himself: one half found one year, and the other a year (or something) later some hundreds of metres away. One can imagine a situation of a soldier at the end of the war breaking his disc and throwing the halves away with other identifying materials in the hopes of not being recognized or something like that. In a Soviet bunker is harder to imagine a situation for. It could be that the whole disc was dug up and someone broke it so sell the halves separately- or it was cracked partly or fully already and the halves ended-up being sold separately- although one would think a whole disc, even if damaged, would sell for more than each half separately.

One thing's for sure though, it does make for even more questions about a disc that's already uncertain...

[Gunny Hartmann]

I don't even thing those two pieces would fit together, the angles on the break look wrong!...

[slados28]

Thanks guys! I haven't given up 100% on this yet but it's looking bleak. I've contacted the OP of the WAF thread to see if he wound up getting it/has more info who found it and where... I'll update here if I hear back.

Gunny: I see similarities but also things that do not appear to match up with regards to the breaks -- I think the angle that these two were shot at makes it hard to really tell either way --- If anything I'd say that this was broken by the soldier before it went into the ground if we are to believe it's good... the broken edges look well rounded by corrosion.

But yeah, like you guys said, at this point there's so many questions that unless I get some good matching info from both seller of this one and the poster of the other half on WAF I'll leave it alone... a shame really as I'd LOVE to have one of these! A fake one would not be of interest though...

[Gunny Hartmann]

I really would save my cash until found something that i had no doubts about!..