Panzerkampfabzeichen 50 (Real or Fake?)

[toot]

a nice first score!

[Night Flare]

Hello Gentleman,

It's been a while. I have returned from my mission. Some parts completed, some parts not.

The bad news - I have still have yet to take photos of the badge, taking quality macro photos with sufficient lighting is really needed and I do not have the correct camera with the all important macro lens or the lighting setup. Hopefully within the next month or so depending on local lock down I'll be able to get hold of both a camera and lighting rig. I will still endeavour to post the photos when I do eventually manage to take some.

The good news - I have purchased a set of Panzer Assault Badge reference books from Philippe De Bock and have studied the relevant pages. I can say with some certainty that my badge is an original, early G.B. badge. All the correct features are there and match the examples shown.

- The badge is highly detailed.
- The "50" shield/font is correct
- The Acorn Cups, The Eagle's Claws, The Track Lines all match the examples shown.
- The rivets are squashed and match
- The die flaw between the right lower swastika arm
- The hardware matches exactly to the example for an early G.B. badge. It has the first hinge variant but more importantly the catch, pin and hinge all show the unique tool marks (fingerprints)

The only thing I would say is that the C hook shape of the catch looks to me like it was bent slightly open at some point. The C does not appear to be as closed as the examples shown. It is still a C but the back is straighter, the back is only ever so slightly angled.
Perhaps the badge came out of the factory like this. However, it seems plausible that it was opened over time during the wear of the badge, perhaps due to weight. Or possibly the original owner opened it up slightly to make it easier to put on / take off.

Not sure if anyone has any thoughts?

In time I will post photos but for now I'm confident that the badge is authentic.

Thank you once again for the advice and information.

[MAP]

Of course a macro lens and light boxes is optimal, but a high quality cell phone camera and outdoor lighting should do the trick for photos. Put it on a neutral background, and a nice lightly overcast day and your all set.

Catches did bend but once you take some some more photos we can tell for sure.

[Night Flare]

I thought I should update this thread with photos of the award as suggested.

I've used the camera on my iphone 11 with a £30 clip on macro lens from Amazon. The photos may not be the best, but hopefully they will provide greater detail and prove to be a good reference for anyone viewing this thread in the future.

If anything in these new images brings up questions regarding the awards authenticity then please let me know.

I've also weighed the badge. It weighs - 23.16g














(Edited to add weight)

[Night Flare]

More photos....