Ostmedaille : what do you think of this one ?

[Rapace32]

Hello gentlemen,
I would like to share with you this unmarked Ostmedaille I have just bought.
What do you think of it ? Real or fake ?







Thank you for your help.

[emo155]

The ribbon looks good to me.

Can you tell me if the ring is magnetic?

[Rapace32]

The ring does not seems to be magnetic.
Thanks

[Sveimhugi]

Hello

Looks good to me although its a little rough.

It as some "zinkpest" on it.

I would recommend to clean it with running water a little dishwasher liquid and a brush.
Dry it well with a paper towel or even a hairblower and submerge it in vaselin overnight.
Clean of the excess vaselin as the last step.

Good luck

[Rapace32]

Thank you for your advice !

[Rapace32]

Sveimhugi,
I juste cleaned it, and here is the result :



There is still "zincpest" on it and I will clean it again

Tanhks.

[Sveimhugi]

Sveimhugi,
I juste cleaned it, and here is the result :



There is still "zincpest" on it and I will clean it again

Tanhks.

Well one time is normally enough, you have to be the judge
Just check it out how it looks after 24hours in a vaselin bath.

[Rapace32]

thanks again !

[Rapace32]

Hello,
here is the final result !
It looks better now, thanks for the advice !

[Watchdog]

Well done it does look much better.

I suspect that the issue was not Zinc pest (zinkpest) which as well as poor storage conditions is caused by lead impurities in the alloy and causes the material to expand and crack or even disintigrate completely. Because the same impurity would not occur in every batch of alloy some items can be affected whilst other identical items in the same circumstances are not. The process which is "intercrystaline" is irreversible and even if halted (not sure if that is possible beyond simply slowing it down) the internal structure of the affected area is permanently damaged and tends to show unsightly surface pitting at best. At worst the affected area appear eaten away.

I think you are fortunate and rather than zinc pest this was actually zinc oxidation usually due to damp conditions which affects the surface of the alloy causing a white fur like deposit (weissrost). This can usually be cleaned away and if not too advanced leaves little surface pitting. Of couse any surface finish is likely to be affected if not lost local to the affected area.

Now you just need to keep it in a dry stable environment and it should be OK.

I hope this is of interest.

Regards

Mark