Polish spinner thread

[3mk]

Hey Guys,
I thought it would be a good idea to start up a spinner thread.
First off any spinners marked A.Panasiuk or Olszewski are repros.Fake badges are sometimes added with original or replica`s of originals to make the badge look original,but like the proffesor says never judge a badge by its spinner.

Does anyone else have a spinner marked J.Pendowski Poznan??

[A.J. Zawadzki]

OK, I’ll be first to take the bait.

Here’s a sampling of various spinners by one of the most revered and prolific pre-war Polish badge makers, Wiktor Gontarczyk. Many of these are being reproduced and as Emil says - find themselves on both copy badges to disguise them as authentic, and genuine badges as replacements for lost original spinners.

Regards,
T.

[StefanM]

Great thread idea Emi and thanks Tony for kicking this off

Of course there are books about Polish badges and medals but are there any books about the history of the various firms of Polish jewllers making badges and medals? Or of the Italian makers of Polish Second Corps badges?

[3mk]

Thanks for kicking it off Tony!
1 way to identify a fake Gontarczyk spinner is to see if the letters C and Z are touching

4thSkorpian,In most reference books It tells you who manufactured the badge/medal but most of the time they dont tell you anything about the jewler

[A.J. Zawadzki]

Of course there are books about Polish badges and medals but are there any books about the history of the various firms of Polish jewllers making badges and medals? Or of the Italian makers of Polish Second Corps badges?

Good question. I wish there was more information on Polish pre-war badge and decoration makers. But alas, I know of no such info source. There may be something extant about the Italian makers, even the UK based makers although I have yet to encounter anything.

Quiz for the day . . . identify the fake Gonty:

Regards,
T.

[3mk]

I think the top right corner,The letters are touching the hole in the middle looks bad and the quality doesnt look like a original.

Tony,Maybe we should make a Pre-war Exile and Home Army quiz threads and make them stickys??It seems like a good idea to me, but we need to hear your word for it

[ccj]

Terrific idea. I need help on these spinners... along with everything else.

[3mk]

I second on that!

[3mk]

Hey guys,
Does anyone know how to identify fake Jan Knedler spinners?I see them being sold as repros with repro badges but soon enough they`ll be selling as originals
Thanks

[A.J. Zawadzki]

Does anyone know how to identify fake Jan Knedler spinners?. . .

The Knedler copies I have seen are the large later type and are all cast, and usually in white metal with artificial antiquing / oxidation. I'll try to dig out a pic and post later.

Regards,
Tony