Cap Eagle Mould?

[Steven Macquillin]

Hi to everyone, not sure if this is the right place for this to go, but it is to do with uniforms and insignia so this is it. Can anyone tell me if this is a mould for the cap eagle. I have looked in a couple of books I have to see if there is any thing like this and there is reference to something like this in a book called 'German Visor Caps of the second world war'. I have tried an old eagle that I got years ago, not sure if it is a genuine cap eagle, but it seems to fit this mould really snugly. The material that this mould is made of is very hard and you can not bend it. Just wondered if this is a modern piece made for copying or if it is the genuine article.
Thanks in advance Steve.

[Watchdog]

Sorry but I don't like either item. The die or mould has the look of sand casting with the attendant very poor detail. The eagle also has very poor obverse detail and no detail on the reverse which means that it could not have been made in this item or the male half would leave an impression in the reverse of the badge. So the two are not associated but the mould might be something used to produce movie props? Plus the eagle is likely something similar as it doesn't look like it was ever seriously meant to fool a collector.

Interesting from a research point of view though.

Regards

Mark

[Steven Macquillin]

Cheers for the reply Mark. I knew the eagle was most likely a fake or copy, it came in a box with just a load of junk basically but needed some info on the mould. The metal itself is really hard, almost like a bronze alloy and the surface is smooth, not that the pictures do it much justice. The metal around the eagle is thinner than the sheet itself so looks to have been pressed out. Once again thanks. Steve.

[warbuff]

At least you could have some fun making your own eagles.

[Steven Macquillin]

Now there a thought, could sell them on here. lol some how don't think I would sell many.

[Watchdog]

Yes, it is an odd looking piece for sure. It does have the visual appearance of bronze which is fairly hard to the touch but is not the type of metal a die would be made of because it would wear far too quickly during repeated stamping so typically dies during WWII would be made from contemporary hardened steel /alloy. Also dies are produced from a master engraving in order to be of high enough definition to carry through to the item being stamped.
Your item as you already said is not engraved but it really does not look stamped either. If you look closely at the metal surface of both halves, paticularly around the edge of the eagle image you can see it is of a very granular appearance. This is very typical of sand casting but more to the point a stamping looks nothing like this. It would have a relatively smooth suface caused by the two halves of the mother die pressing firmly together under high pressure. It is impossible to say where this item came from just by looking at it in pics but if I had to guess I would say it has something of the Indian Sub-Continent about it. Have you any idea where it has been before you got it?

Regards

Mark

[warbuff]

If it were me...there would be hundreds of heer cap eagles laying around. it would be cool to melt down some aluminum soda cans, then pour them into the mold. And then you'll be in business

[Steven Macquillin]

Going to give that a try Warbuff. Should be an experience.

[Steven Macquillin]

Hi Mark, I have no idea as to where this might have come from as it was in a box with a load of other German stuff I got at a car boot sale. Wasn't expecting anything genuine as the box only cost me a fiver. As for this die, it is only the one piece, I don't have the other that would have been pressed into it. It astounds me the lengths people will go to, to try and con the collector. Unless as you say this was produced for the theatre. Would just like to know. Going to give it a try with some ali melted down. Should be fun.

[Watchdog]

Oh, I see. My mistake I just assumed from the pictures it was two pieces. Looking closely at both images I should have noticed it was two views of the same thing! In that case I suppose it might be intended as a pouring mould or even an attempt at a decorative plate for something. Still be fun to mess around with though!

Regards

Mark