Verwundetenabzeichen 1939 in Silber - Real or Fake?

[SpartanX9]

Hello All!

I have found this Verwundetenabzeichen 1939 in Silber online and am interested in adding it to my collection. It does not appear to be a fake, based on what I have been able to research. However, I would like some other opinions before I make a purchasing decision. Any and all help would be greatly appreciated!

P.S.: Is the whiteish color of the silver wash just oxidation due to time or just a color variation?

Spartan

[Adrian]

It looks like an original badge by Rudolf Wachtler & Lange - 100 in nice condition. The white colour is just where the original finish has changed, faded and become more white to look at rather than silver.
If you have a search for the above maker's wound badges you will see it's quite common.
It's a nice badge. It still retains a good amount of finish and still has the look of being worn.

[SpartanX9]

Hello Adrian! Thank you for assisting me with this! I also read that early Verwundetenabzeichen 1939 in Silber were brass with a silver/nickel silver plate applied and later badges are just silver washed. Is there any special way to distinguish an early badge for the later badges when looking online?

[Adrian]

You'll find the tombak badges of earlier production will have the reverse hardware soldered onto the surface of the badge directly. Zinc badges will have the hinge and catch attached to a plate before attaching to the badge because the zinc didn't take the solder of a small area so well. In the case of the badge above, the hinge and catch has been moulded as part of the production process or crimped, there are several different ways different manufacturers did this which is useful to collectors as they are like a fingerprint to identify an unmarked badge, obviously on this one, Wachtler & Lange put their PKZ number on the catch crimp.
The finish can have a bubbled appearance in some cases and where the finish has worn, the base metal will appear as a grey colour whereas in tombak, it will appear as a yellow base metal and they often hold their finish much better over time although you can find zinc badges in mint condition.
There are always anomalies, some makers applied a thin barrier layer to their zinc badges before the finish was applied and when worn, it will look silver or coppery beneath the finish.