Article about: t When i was a 13yr old snotty little kid a regular haunt of mine was The Angel at Islington every Saturday, on one of the stalls there was a nice looking pole eagle in a lovely looking gold
t When i was a 13yr old snotty little kid a regular haunt of mine was The Angel at Islington every Saturday, on one of the stalls there was a nice looking pole eagle in a lovely looking gold metal finish, my dad bought it for me , it cost 15quid which was a lot of money then but dad had a nice win on the horses so he treated my sister and me, any way there i was walking along, the proud owner of my original eagle, when my dad saw an old friend of his,they got talking and the topic got around to my eagle, my dads mate looked at it and said we,d best take it back because it was a fake, they were being made down the road in a metal shop next door to his firm. Well i cant repeat what my dad said to the guy but the police were called when dad gave him a right hander, the copper who arrived was an old boy who told dad to bugger off and gave the stall holder a right going over, i ended up instead with a genuine dak troppenheim for the same money.
I bought this bad SS Visor at a Flea Market when I know nothing about TR headgear, payed about $160. The good thing is I became a student real quick in spotting bad headgear.
My first was a fake Luftwaffe 2d pattern dagger. I was so proud when I thought I got a steal. When we got in the car and left, I noticed that the makers mark was poorly etched. After studying up, I found out it was fake. 50 dollars was a lot to a 10 year old. I still have it, though.
Hitler Youth trumpet banner about 1981 . Bought from a guy that looked 180 years old at a flea market he said he brought it back from the war . I was 15 and stuck me for $200 bucks . Oh well .
Dave
Other than my ex wife I can't think of a thing. I got an M3 shoulder holster that a guy was trying to pass off as WWII vintage. The price was so good I bought it even though I knew it was fake. I stick mostly to 1911 pistols and even though fake 1911's abound it is one that I can usually spot fairly quickly. I don't know how you folks spot all the minute details on some of the things you collect, Ton's of knowledge on this forum.
Mike
LOL, thats funny about the ex. I guess my first thing , was my first thing, the guy painted it, then aged it, but it was a British F/S commando knife, well a few months later I ordered a BUD K catalog, there it was you can get three for $5.00, I threw it into a tree in my yard, it is rusting away very nicely. I should have known a real one wouldn't go for $25.00
I wish I could say that I was 9 years old when it happened to me... it wouldn't be quite so embarrassing! Unfortunately I am 61 and I got caught about 2 weeks ago! I saw a Totenkopf WW2 buckle on... yes, you guessed it... eBay. I knew absolutely nothing at all about buckles, and when I accidently stumbled across this one I suddenly felt the twangs of a new collecting passion awakening within me. I didn't know about sites like this forum, or that people are actually faking war relics... I just jumped right in... head first, and bought it. I was chuffed and I started to eagerly search through all the other belts and buckles on eBay... but then, all of a sudden I realized that I was looking at lots of buckles that looked exactly identical to the one I had just bought... Scheisse! After a quick google I came across this site where the wonderful world of WW2 buckle collecting unfolded before my eyes... including the 'Rouges' Gallery'! What a twit I had been but... one thing's for sure, within the last couple of weeks I have learnt a lot about buckles, and although my first steps into buckle collecting were not that successful... I'm thankful to eBay for starting me off with a new passion! Oh... by the way, anyone looking for Totenkopf buckle... going cheap? Ha ha ha....
An Afrika Korps tunic that I bought from an American dealer in Aschaffenburg, West Germany. It was actually a USN officer's coat dyed black with fake panzer coller tabs and Afrika Korp cuff title. I have a photo of it somewhere around here. Thus endeth my TR collecting!
My first "goodie" I ever got suckered into was from the original old con-man himself-Roger Steele out in Hollywood,CA. He sent me a fantastic looking silver SS/SA Deathhead ring that had been "dug in The Netherlands". He even hinted that "others" might have been from a Gravesite...Another "goodie" was from a dealer in Germany name of Ken Lane selling Iron Crosses. The one he sent wasn't even fully soldered together but was falling apart-probably because of the glue being too new...Old Roger got himself held up and shot years ago,I heard,but I always wondered what ever happened to Ken Lane. And let's not even Mention everybody's bane-Joe Walters from his "House of Swords and Militaria"...but he sure could put together a Great looking catalog,hey? So we Live and so we Learn...
Few years ago before I knew of this forum, I went out and bought a Kuban combat shield and a IAB. Well year down the road and getting on this forum, being told and realizing it a fake.....Well live and learn quick in this hobby. Never bought fake since (knock on wood) DSC02200.jpgDSC02081.jpgDSC02196.jpg
Re: What Was Your First Fake?
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by Pompa Mike
I found a few old photos of the nightmare!
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