Panzerkampfabzeichen III Stufe "50", GB, Gustav Brehmer

[rbminis]

Hi Ralph, A very nice award.I would agree that the rivets have been tightened you can see by the distortion to them.I have added a photo of the rear of my un-tightened GB bronze grade 25 for comparison. Its nice to see on your example all the flaws and fingerprints that help to identify a genuine GB PKA.

Thank you Robin!
Ralph.

[rbminis]

Very nice Ralph. Quite jealous LoL

I really have to get one of these. Just don't know where look and have not committed myself yet.

Thank you Michael!
I know someone who can help you when you decide.
Ralph.

[MAP]

Thank you Michael!
I know someone who can help you when you decide.
Ralph.

Will keep that in mind Ralph. Thanks. Will take you up on that offer.

It is on the Medal bucket list, close to the top, right below a DKIG but one step above KC

[big ned]

Hi Ralph,

That's a gorgeous badge, it's clearly had very little wear if you notice that the track link pins are still untouched, these are always the first things that get worn on these G.B. numbered PAB's.

The catch hook does appear to be replaced to me. There were variant types that were flat wire but the commonest was a round wire type that had a number of tool marks or "fingerprints" on the bend and where the wire was clipped off, these are always looked for as they're unique and more importantly, impossible to fake. I can't see these on the photographs. In my opinion the wire part of the catch has been replaced, but the original rectangular base is still in situ, indicating that the wire came adrift and was carefully replaced. Looking at it I would say it's a period repair, well executed and not detrimental to the badge. Here's a couple of pictures from Philippe De Bock's book that highlights these important details on the catch.


COURTESY OF PHILIPPE DE BOCK "THE GERMAN PANZER ASSAULT BADGE OF WORLD WAR II".

The 3 tombak rivets used to secure the parts of the G.B. PAB were unique in the fact that they were too narrow a fit through the holes that attached the tank to the wreath. Consequently the result was a "rattling" badge. To counter this the rivets came to be nearly always "squashed" by the worker assembling the badge, this is known because mint, unworn badges still in the award packets have been found that clearly indicate this and it's fairly safe to assume that the rivets seen here are an example of this practice. It's uncommon to find a genuine badge with the rivets unmolested, but examples such as Robin's badge above show that they are out there.

It's a nice early example and a great addition to your collection mate, being an important example historically speaking of the stupendous bravery of the few guys who earned them, well done!

Regards, Ned.

[jamoros]

Outstanding Badge, congratulations Ralph

Superb explanation Ned, never stop learning, thanks, Juan

[rbminis]

Outstanding Badge, congratulations Ralph

Superb explanation Ned, never stop learning, thanks, Juan

Thank you Juan!
Ralph.

[harryamb2]

great badge Ralph.

[rbminis]

great badge Ralph.

Thank you Harry!
Ralph.

[rbminis]

Just before this PAB came up for sale, I purchased a stick pin from the same seller. It is an L/56 marked, (Funcke & Bruninghaus), Panzerkampfabzeichen III Stufe "50". Therefore, it is the matching stick pin for this award. I have been told by Ned that this stick pin is less often seen than the full sized award.
My original intention when purchasing this pin was to send it to Ned as a gift as I did not own any numbered PABs. The day I received the pin, and before I could contact him, Ned informed me of this PAB for sale. Under the circumstances of me deciding to purchase the PAB and the fact that these were both purchased from the same person, meaning that they have already been together for some time now, as well as discussing it with Ned, I decided that they should stay together for now.
Thanks Ned for your assistance and understanding.
Ralph.




Here they are together.

[big ned]

Oh boy that's a suh-weet combination Ralph!!

The mini is very rare, I've only ever seen a couple on other forums and never had one in hand, but the one above is a type that's cropped up before. Not a lot is known about them, the LDO number L/56 is actually for the maker Funcke & Bruninghaus and the badge appears to be made completely from buntmetall as opposed to the usual zinc, as it was a scarce prime material by 1943 when the badge was first introduced.

They have been questioned in the past as to whether they were period made, but in recent years with gradually a very few more of this type coming out of the woodwork they have started to gain acceptance, and rightly so in my opinion. I think it's just that they're so uncommon that collectors have been a bit lairy of them in the past, but when you consider the effort gone into making something so carefully and out of prime period materials that 15 years ago were going for only around $10, it seems to me extremely unlikely that it was worth a forgers trouble. Another point is, if they were fake, why aren't there hundreds around rather than so few? Of course these days they are far more desirable as is reflected in the price when they do rarely crop up for sale.

It's an absolute pleasure to see these two matching badges together, don't ever part them out mate, they just compliment each other so well even down to the matching patina, that's no coincidence believe me! I can't add much more, other than they make a sublime little display together, bloody marvellous!!

Regards, Ned.