I need your opinion about this badge.

[Malko]

Thanks to all of you for your detailed information and the time you spent.
For sure we focus to tiny details but i think that this is the reason which turns this Forum to a high level research conversation and not just a simple brainstorming.

Moreover I noticed that many friends they do not know this specific badge, so, this copy one was the reason to be informed.

I would appreciate if somebody could upload the photos from Kai’s site because I face a problem to open the page.

With my best regards !

[tempelhof]

i can not download them. i just tried. the minute you put the cursor on them the images expand and the function of the right click for downloading is lost.

perhaps someone else can figure it out. i'm an idiot with computers anyway.

it is a cupal version by W&L as previously stated.

the reverse hardware set up and markings are identical to those found in the image kindly supplied by Saladin with the exception that there is a large font Verliehungsnummer stamped into the badge below the W&L mark.

[youthcollector1]

Send me a link and I'll be able to do it, I think. I've done it for Larry once before.

[tempelhof]

you'll need to sign up to view the images.

once you've done that, this should work:

https://www.history-shop.de/katalog/...r_84184_e.html

[youthcollector1]

Here you go,

[tempelhof]

wow. it's like nothing to you doing that.

at any rate, courtesy of youthcollector1, there you have it.

[youthcollector1]

Youth, it has a few advantages.

it didn't seem to when i had it.

Maybe I'm just starting to get old. It's got to happen eventually, right?

It could be time to change my user I.D from youthcollector1 to oldcollector1 or agingcollector1 or even youngadultcollector1. Lol

[tempelhof]

it didn't seem to when i had it.

[matthew]

The badge that started this thread is a fake with spurious Assmann stamp. Although it is possible that Assmann submitted few prototypes for consideration of the Party- the badge would most certainly be unnumbered if at all marked.
All the awarded pieces that have turned up to date came from the workshop of Wachtler & Lange with no die variation. Unnumbered W&L pieces exists as do prototypes from Deschler that turned up few years ago with so called "Deschler Horde" and provenance tracing back to that manufacturer.
Contrary to a popular belief a genuine Gau OstPreussen badge (of the W&L variety) is a two piece hollow award (!) and is made out of cupal (copper coated aluminum, silvered and with "smoked" effect added before being sealed with a coat of varnish- typically visible on the verso of better conditioned examples). No "straight aluminum" W&L examples have been observed to date. The one or two 800 Silver examples are rather dubious speciments as the die characteristics do NOT conform to known and accepted examples of this award.
All of the known W&L examples come with the same hardware- no variation of catches, barrels or pins have been observed (handful out there have their pins replaced but it is rather obvious they did NOT originally come with those).
A rather large number of Gau OstPreussen copies have been produced after the end of the conflict including very accurate copies by (who else!) Rudolf Souval. They were manufactured almost exclusively in zinc and some of them come marked L/58. As convincing as they might be- the difference in quality and details becomes quite obvious when placed next to the real thing. Hardware on those is the biggest and most obvious giveaway without going into any other details (safety style pin held by rectangular plate soldered to the back of the badge).
It is estimated that nearly 2000 of those badges have been awarded with possibly 3000 or more produced.
Hope it helps,
cheers

Matt

[Malko]

Hello Matt
Thanks for the detailed post.
Taking in consideration your comment and the comments from everybody else here i should be sad because my badge is not authentic. But the true is different. First of all i had the oppurtunity to start a very interesting topic and second to learn so many details about the history and the past of the makers and their manufacture methods.
However new questions emerged in my mind.
What is the criteria for a copies maker to create a copy of a non popular and "famous" badge?
Can we suppose who was the manufacturer of this particular badge ?
The fact that the badge was found in Murmansk - Russia gives any conclusion ?
Searching in net i realize that Rudolf Suval's items has much more poor details from this badge.
Is there any sources refering to the Assmann candidate badges for the Party that finally never used for awarding ?
Cheers
Nikos