Schnellboot-Kriegsabzeichen 1.model

[JeZoCoH]

What do you think of that one, i like it but im not sure. Im asking for opinions, its made from zink.











And sorry for the bad photos, best i can do with my phone.

[John Brandon]

Personally, I think if you are going to buy a 1st pattern badge, you are always better going for a "known" variant. Although it does look good, the "O" mark on the reverse has caused some concern in the past, it has been suggested that this mark is attributed to S&L or F&B a large number of these flooded the market in the 70's with different markings (Junker) so I guess it will always be a hard sell IMO

[Adrian]

John is correct in what he says. When considering a purchase of a rare and quite expensive piece I would always go for one that didn't have any question marks above it.

Saying that though, the badge ticks the boxes for those believed to have been made by Steinhauer & Luck. The hinge is definitely similar to those made by this company as well as that 'o' marking which is attributed to them.
However, the 'o' marking is generally considered to be found on badges made post war. I think I'm right in saying that this mark hasn't appeared on any S&L badge made before May 1945 with absolute proof, yet it does appear on their post war pieces and 1957 reissue pieces.

The are too many 'known unknowns' surrounding these pieces but we do know that S&L made these badges pre May 1945 and post May 1945.
Some had the 'o' mark, some didn't.
We know a quantity of these badges appeared in the U.K. during the 1970s but don't know if they were an attic find of original pre May 1945 pieces or a flood of post war production onto the market.

Basically this is a long winded way of saying that Steinhauer & Luck made these badges during the war and after. The markings on them or lack thereof is no indication to pre or post war manufacture.

It's one of those situations where you as the buyer will have to make the judgement call on the badge in hand and take into consideration the price, the condition and if it will sit comfortably in your collection. There will always be a doubt lingering over these badges until any new evidence about them surfaces.

[Adrian]

One other thing, the 'o' marking is thought to be an orientation mark for those involved with the manufacture.

I'm not entirely convinced by that on badges which have a definite right way up and wrong way. On an EK or award where it could be easy to mistake up from down I can accept it but on a badge where is is clear to see which is the top and which is the bottom even from the reverse, I do wonder about this theory.