Expert advice needed on this one

**JERSEY 34** · 12-05-2013, 04:40 PM

Hi,
I have taken a chance and purchased this identity tag, but was not and am not sure its the real deal. Normally you get a feeling for something like this when you have it to hand, but this one I am unsure about totally. I would be obliged if the Forums i/d tag experts could cast an eye over this one and call it for me. The seller appears to have a lot of tags ofr sale to interesting units and it seems too good to be true with some of what he has and i have learned over the years if it seems to good then generally it is too good to be true.
Any comments or opinions will be much appreciated...if it helps i believe its wrong.... but remain happy to be convinced otherwise.
All the best,
D.

**Espenlaub Militaria** · 12-05-2013 04:40 PM

We also buy and trade your items and full collections!

**JERSEY 34** · 12-05-2013, 06:04 PM

The seller is on ebay and goes by the name tri_top, have a look and see what you thing to his other tags but i do need to be conviced the above tag is original.

**JERSEY 34** · 12-05-2013, 07:05 PM

Somebody must have an opinion...... or is it that bad that i should go to specsavers?

**Gunny Hartmann** · 12-05-2013, 07:30 PM

Hmmm, it was stamped a while ago as there doesn't seem to have any "bloom" around the stampings to indicate an old blank disc which has been tampered with, the very sharp edges to the string holes look like it was never or hardly ever worn though!...

**JERSEY 34** · 12-05-2013, 10:14 PM

I am totally convinced that its a new made piece... and the fact the seller has not replied to my questions just goes to deepen my dislike for the piece. It was always taking a chance when I bought it, but I asked the questions I could looking at the photos, but now its in the hand its not what I expect in a tag.
You live and learn, and when you think you know it all its time to start again.
D.

**Jerry B** · 12-05-2013, 10:25 PM

Often a bad sign if all of it is in upper case, though not really up on these.

**Gunny Hartmann** · 12-05-2013, 10:40 PM

by JERSEY 34

I am totally convinced that its a new made piece... and the fact the seller has not replied to my questions just goes to deepen my dislike for the piece. It was always taking a chance when I bought it, but I asked the questions I could looking at the photos, but now its in the hand its not what I expect in a tag.
You live and learn, and when you think you know it all its time to start again.
D.

I forgot to mention that it could have been artificially aged after it was stamped!...

**Matt L** · 12-05-2013, 11:09 PM

Unfortunately, I don't like that one at all; the weird 'ring' around all the holes makes me think of chemical 'age', the outside edge looks like it was filed, and each one of the three Trennschlitzen has the exact same bad lower edge, which makes no sense at all. So the disc itself looks to be a poor fake. Plus the marking makes no sense; there was Festungs-Bau-Bataillon 1, which was a Heer unit, and there was the OT- but I don't see how they'd go together, and why the 'Gustav' I have no idea. The way the 'unit' is written too makes no sense- it's like it's all one big word but the 'Bataillon' is abbreviated for some reason while 'Festungs' isn't; I'd expect 'Fest. Bau. Btl.' or at least a bit of separation to indicate it's not a compound word LOL Looks like some faker fantasy piece made by someone who really had no idea what they were doing...

**Matt L** · 12-05-2013, 11:11 PM

by Jerry B

Often a bad sign if all of it is in upper case, though not really up on these.

All sans-serif capitals is the bad sign really; lots of originals have all capitals, but the vast, vast majority are decent-looking serif fonts- but lots and lots of fakes use crappy sans-serif, capital fonts.