FAKE AWARD DOCUMENTS(in detail)

[FALLSCHIRMJAGER]

Hello all , whilst "whistling away" some spare time I thought I would share with you my "findings" from a document group that I have just dissected! When I got these two documents some time ago I believed them to be good originals. That however is not the case and I will now show you why it is best to avoid documents "glued down" onto card unless you are really sure about what you are buying!
Firstly when I looked through a x10 loop I noticed that the documents were showing a multi-coloured "pigmentation" to the paper,this is unlike any other document that I own from the period and so set the alarm bells ringing!
I then more curious and thought "these documents are unusually well stuck down!" So I peeled them off and found they were IDENTICAL on the reverse , in fact they are so identical that the reverse may well be the front if not for the glue!!
Even the "type set" has the same areas of fading on both sides of the documents
As i'm sure you can now see , they are double sided fake photo copies but the final test I made was the UV/BLACKLIGHT and surprise surprise they lit up like a lighthouse! So please give ANY documents a good look especially if they are "glued down" and look out for-
1)Multi-coloured pigmentation to the paper when magnified.
2)Be suspicious of "glued down documents".
3)If possible try to see the reverse(lift a section)of a "glued down" document.
4)UV/BLACKLIGHT test if possible as some sellers may try to convince you it is the "glue" causing the reaction.
All in all I am pleased to have found a few useful indicators to learn from with these FAKE awards and I hope that this information is useful to others. Leon.

[Paul D]

Have we discussed them here before Leon ??

[Jerry B]

I looked at some papers today with an AH signature and it was only when looking through a 10x lens that I could see that the text including that done in pencil was all done on a dot matrix printer. Another mistake was the paper was wrong and there was a what appeared to be a major spelling mistake.

Sometimes you need to look at this stuff very closely.

[FALLSCHIRMJAGER]

Have we discussed them here before Leon ??

Hi Paul , we have but before I took a close look and found out what I've found out. At the time we thought they were good but I guess that's because I didn't show real sharp close ups!(as I thought they were ok) Leon

[Bill T]

wow man, good on you to posting your findings. Interesting the reverse is like that. Sorry it turned out this way for you tho Leon. Those are not cheap documents either.....were they bought from a dealer that states a lifetime guarantee by chance?

[FALLSCHIRMJAGER]

wow man, good on you to posting your findings. Interesting the reverse is like that. Sorry it turned out this way for you tho Leon. Those are not cheap documents either.....were they bought from a dealer that states a lifetime guarantee by chance?

Hi Bill , unfortunately these documents were bought from a local "junk shop". When my suspicions first surfaced I considered taking them back for a refund but although not cheap as such they didn't break the bank either so I thought I (and everyone else)would learn more for the future by pulling them apart. Also I thought that they would end up back on the market as this guy seems to have either little knowledge or is an out and out crook(he sells some absolute junk). I didn't want somebody else to be stung!!His main target for sales are tourists,he does however occasionally get a really nice piece! Leon.

[StefanM]

identical that the reverse may well be the front if not for the glue!!
Even the "type set" has the same areas of fading on both sides of the documents
As i'm sure you can now see , they are double sided fake photo copies but the final test I made was the UV/BLACKLIGHT and surprise surprise they lit up like a lighthouse!


4)UV/BLACKLIGHT test if possible as some sellers may try to convince you it is the "glue" causing the reaction.

All in all I am pleased to have found a few useful indicators to learn from with these FAKE awards and I hope that this information is useful to others. Leon.

Did you also black test known authentic paper from the period for comparison? Paper manufacturing has always involved various bleaching and chemical agents to treat wood pulp, linen and cotton fibres used in many types of papers and boards that might glow under blue light, not something I have tested but might be worth looking into. Many other ingredients can be added to paper such as chalk to improve the finish of the paper for printing which might glow under black light? A special coating called a "barrier coat" is sometimes applied onto the non-printing side of paper to add to the opacity or stability of the paper this might also cause the substrate to glow?

I wish there were a collector such as our Party badge expert "Metallwarenfabrik" with the technical expertise who would take a forensic interest in paper documents to explore these issues around paper making, period printing techniques, print inks and even font characteristics.

[FALLSCHIRMJAGER]

Hi 4thScorpion, yes , before I "peeled" the documents I had UV/BLACKLIGHT tested not only other period documents I own(allies and third reich) but also books from the 1930's-40's that I own just to make sure it was not a paper variation.I also had my "loop" out on the other paper items and found nothing similar to this "multi-coloured" pigmentation. Leon.

[StefanM]

Hi 4thScorpion, yes , before I "peeled" the documents I had UV/BLACKLIGHT tested not only other period documents I own(allies and third reich) but also books from the 1930's-40's that I own just to make sure it was not a paper variation.I also had my "loop" out on the other paper items and found nothing similar to this "multi-coloured" pigmentation. Leon.

Is the multi coloured pigmentation on the paper surface or in the fibre strands, it could be as the war progressed dyed cotton rag was used and not treated properly in the paper manufacturing process due to shortages of higher grade wood fiber/pulp which I think was imported from the USSR until June 1941.

I am not disagreeing with you regarding the documents being fakes just reiterating that paper documents are an area of collecting that has seemingly lacked thorough expert study especially as paper ephemera can be rarer than other more longlasting artifacts and therefore worth faking as values increase.

[FALLSCHIRMJAGER]

Is the multi coloured pigmentation on the paper surface or in the fibre strands, it could be as the war progressed dyed cotton rag was used and not treated properly in the paper manufacturing process due to shortages of higher grade wood fiber/pulp which I think was imported from the USSR until June 1941.

I am not disagreeing with you regarding the documents being fakes just reiterating that paper documents are an area of collecting that has seemingly lacked thorough expert study especially as paper ephemera can be rarer than other more longlasting artifacts and therefore worth faking as values increase.

Hi , the pigmentation is on the surface of the paper , it is not like inter woven strands as you would expect from various materials being used in poor quality paper. The pigments are definite miniscule "dots" as such , mainly in the colours of magenta and green.I belive that these colours when being looked at without a loop give the overall impression of aged or tanned white paper. Leon.