Two mystery badges. Vet cut out Swastika or Fake?

[NewEnglandCollector]

Hi, I was going through a lot of ww2 stuff we purchased at auction from a vet who passed away in the Hartford CT area. These two badges were in with a few WW2 US patches and some other items. At first we tossed them into our reproduction pile. Upon further review we have noticed they are heavy and do not bend like fakes, have all the right detail, just strange pin assemblies. Did someone edit the pins during the war or after? On the pilots badge the swastika appears to have been cut out. Strange thing to do if it was a Repro? I am looking to sell both to someone who will give them a good home but have no idea where to start!

[Adrian Stevenson]

They are both fakes, sorry.

Incorrect construction, pins and the classic post war Souval catch.

Cheers, Ade.

[Danmark]

They are both fakes, sorry.

Incorrect construction, pins and the classic post war Souval catch.

Cheers, Ade.

So sad when even a purchase from a "veteran's estate" turns out 2 B a fakeroo.

[NewEnglandCollector]

Not bad news considering they were only a few bucks each, im sure i can find someone who wants them... but they just caught my eye cause they appear to be die struck...like someone had real pieces and welded them together to make their own badge. The pilots badge is stamped L/58 if that helps. Thanks for the info, is there still a market for repro items at $25-$50? Especially old ones, we have quite the collection of them from sorting out lots. Of our 200 items its about 50 50, but the 50% real side has MORE than paid for itself!
Thanks, is there anything else to know about these or done deal?

Anthony

[Adrian]

I can't add much more unfortunately. Both are post war made by Souval, L/58 was this manufacturers LDO number during the war. The pilots badge has been denazified so you have a damaged fake, not worth anything IMO. The airgunners badge could be used by a Luftwaffe re-enactor but the market is limited as this one is worth very little too.

[NewEnglandCollector]

Over the years I have come across SOO many poor old heroes that get medals from "friends in the military" who ended up getting a post war Reproduction. It is difficult to tell them sometimes and often we politely decline and head home. We literally have an entire table of "misses". They just caught my eye because of how solid they were and that a swastika was cut out...it really looked like a real one that someone worked on with their machine shop. The gunner badge is hung on by wire, obv not correct but I felt the wreath was original...and the upper pin glued on matches one type of original, but not the clasp. Every fake ive ever come across is either bendable or noticeably sized and weighted wrong. These are so solid they must have been die struck by massive weight and power.
Thanks anyway, hopefully ill post some more "hits" this week.
Best Regards,
Anthony
Massachusetts

[winterhilfswerk Book]

Not die struck...cast. You can see evidence of casting on both pieces. Once you know what you are looking for, spotting a cast badge is pretty easy IMO.

[Adrian]

One more nail in the coffin, Souval didn't make Luftwaffe badges before May 1945 to my knowledge.