Luft Para Badge ?

**1944collector** · 02-27-2009, 01:53 PM

I would like some opinions on this para badge.
All comments will be appreciated.
Many thanks
Mike

**Espenlaub Militaria** · 02-27-2009 01:53 PM

We also buy and trade your items and full collections!

**Adrian Stevenson** · 02-27-2009, 03:03 PM

Hi Mike, welcome to the forum.

The fallschirmjager abzeichen by Paul Meybauer can be tricky to authenticate. But I think yours is good.

Cheers, Ade.

**1944collector** · 02-27-2009, 07:54 PM

Adrian
Thanks for your reply.
Mike

**John Brandon** · 02-27-2009, 09:06 PM

by Adrian Stevenson

Hi Mike, welcome to the forum.

The fallschirmjager abzeichen by Paul Meybauer can be tricky to authenticate. But I think yours is good.

Cheers, Ade.

Ade, I hate to disagree with you on this, but i have my doubts. There's something that bothers me from the photos........... it looks like a very good cast Staegemier fake to me.

There seems to be a grainy surface on the badge?

Hope I'm wrong

Hers another of Carsten Staegemeir's offerings, finish looks almost identical a GH Osang

**1944collector** · 02-27-2009, 11:27 PM

John
My posted Para does have the very very fine gold grainy finish to the eagle as would a frosted type gold plating.
Can you post the front of the Staegemeire Para so we can see the eagle and wreath to see if they match.
thanks
Mike

**John Brandon** · 02-28-2009, 12:03 AM

Mike
There really wouldn't be much point in posting anymore of the badge. What I'm seeing is the same type of grainy surface on the rear. Yes I know that the catch is different, as this is by a different "maker" he's very good at them. I'm saying that I am not comfortable with it for the reasons stated. Call it gut feeling, red flags and all that. I am aware that Mr Staegemeir, is well known for his cast fakes from ORIGINAL badges. And that is what makes it doubly hard to detect.

As I said Mike, I hope I'm wrong, but I'm 99% sure.

lets see if anyone else wants to comment?

dave · 02-28-2009, 02:23 AM

hi fello collectors before we start lets get the differance between die stamp and die cast .I may be wrong in my view and tell me if i am wrong but it looks to me to be stamped

**1944collector** · 02-28-2009, 03:14 AM

Hello Dave
You have bropught up a good point to examine.
Looking at the eagles edge I would say it is a stamped eagle I can tell by the shear marks on the edge where it was pushed dowm into a die. That means the eagle is probably made of Tombak a brass alloy with a high degree of copper making it perfect for cold stamping.
The wreath seems to exhibit the same vertical shear marks on the inside and outside. There is a seam line on the outside that is about .030 to .040 up from the bottom/back edge which would be the lower half of the die that the tombak material was pressed down into, the impression the wreath itself would be in the top side of the die which would produce the detail shape of the leaves acorns and such. The bottom side was spring loaded so as the material is pushed down into it the springs push it back up to get the part out. The same process would apply for the eagle as a stamping which it looks to be.
I am amazed I did not think to look at this before to see this badge is made of die stamped pieces and not cast pieces. If this Staegemier has the original dies and is stamping these out then there might not be a way to tell original from repops. If he is casting pieces from originals then there is a loss of detail in the transfer, unless he has had new casting dies made from which hes is casting the parts.
As far as the finish goes this I cannot tell wheather it is original or not.
Finishes were and are a plating type process with a negative and positive which allows the metal finish required to attach itsself to the wreath or the eagle thru conductivity.
I posted this badge on another form and have got good and bad reports and all this from photos which leads me to believe judgements are made without all the required information.
I will take this badge to the Show of Shows in Louisville and see what some knowledeable folks think there with the badge in hand.
Thanks for your input.
Michael

dave · 02-28-2009, 03:31 AM

Nice tolerances fair does going to bed naw i will input on this thread again by the way are they bilateral or uni lat by any chanch lol or nominal tolerances just a wee joke good night

**1944collector** · 02-28-2009, 05:55 PM

Gentleman
I have found out this badge is a very very good fake. There is one for sale on best-antiques.com exactly like it. They are getting very good at these fakes so watch out as " a good collector is soon parted from his money ". Others think they are made by Staegemeire in Germany, cast from a original.
Hope this save someone some money.
thanks
Mike