Infanterie Sturmabzeichen

[Roderick]

Dear all,

I bought this one on a auction house for an interesting price. I think/assume that an auction house has experts who check the products, but in the end they don´t guarantee 100% originality. So I hope to get some opinions here if this an original ISA and if so maybe also the maker. It´s kind of semi-hallow in the area of the carabiner. I hope the photos are ok.

[Adrian]

I believe it is an original and it looks like badges from Ernst Muller. Hopefully more knowledgeable collectors can confirm or correct.

[rbminis]

I believe it is an original and it looks like badges from Ernst Muller.

I agree with Adrian, an unmarked Ernst Muller.
You can compare to my example here.
Infanterie Sturmabzeichen in Silber,Unmarked Ernst Muller
Ralph.

[Roderick]

Dear Ralph and Adrian, thanks for your assessment ! I´m happy to have bought a real one at the auction !!

[Gwar]

Just a note, auction houses are a 50/50 gamble, for the most part they rarely authenticate items, when in doubt ask for assistance in the corresponding sub forum before placing a bid, also, the premium can be as high as 18%, so, you may be buying over the actual market value, but there are some nice original pieces to be found, nice badge !!

[Roderick]

Thanks for the advice - to be honest, I really wasn´t aware of it until I read the general terms and conditions of business of some auction houses.... I really thought they have experts there that check the parts before. Very ofthen they also don´t provide close up pictures, so very often it´s impossible to check if they are real. But sometimes they claim that it´s 100% authentic, so then I think you should have the right to return it, if not.... I will be more cautious now. If it´s really only a 50/50 chance it´s obviously better to buy at an good and known dealer.

[Adrian]

Always make yourself aware of any return policy if there is one. As Gwar says above, if you're not sure, please post any potential purchase on the forum prior to spending any money. The same applies to dealers, mistakes can happen.
There are a lot of good dealers and auction houses that do have knowledgeable people and who often post on forums and indeed sponsor them but there are an awful lot who put any old crap up for sale.
If you know what you are buying and can authenticate pieces yourself, it's a lot easier but until you get confident enough or are buying outside of your comfort zone, please always ask. It's easier not to spend any money than it is to try and get it back.

[fischer]

Hi Roderick,

For me, this one presents some questions regarding originality. The Müller ISA has been highly faked over the years, most notably by Staegmaier.

Here are a few issues I noted on the photos...see the yellow arrows.

When we see a skewed, trim die strike, the entire badge is off center to one particular right / left side or either up / down.
Note the right side, inside of the wreath has an extended edge favoring the left and the swazy edge favors the right.
Also, the smashed acorns but all the other elevated details are untouched.

Next, the circles in red show detail loss of the ribbon bow and the 4R wreath leaf is lacking detail as well.
And, what looks like another flattened acorn.

Finally, a fake from Staegmaier's site to compare.

Best Regards, fischer

[fischer]

Here is my unmarked E. Müller semi-hollow reverse.

Best Regards, fischer

[Roderick]

Dear Fischer,
thanks for your your objection... I checked out your hints and here´s what I´ve found out:
I took the close-up photos very improvised with an Iphone and a magnifying glas what´s surely not ideal. With that I have only a small spot on the picture that are sharp and the rest is blurry. I can tell you that in reality the acorns and your marked parts are absolutely sharp and without lack of detail. It´s due to weak picture quality.
But your are right with the edge under the swastika and also your marked edges left/right in the inner circle. Both looks exactly like the very detailed picture that rbminis posted in this post above. So if that´s a clear proof for the Staegmeier Fake, then probagly also the ISA of rbminis is a fake ? Also the ISA picture of Fischer has the edge under the swastika if I can see it right...

If my ISA is not centered is really hard to tell. Maybe on the photos it´s more extreme because of the Iphone lens and the close ups with the magnifying glas. In reality I somehow have the impression that it´s probably not 100% centered, but if you would not have told me, I wouldn´t have regognized it immediately. What I also realized and did not mentioned yet is that my ISA is kind of a "curved" version. So a little bit like some curved EK I of WW I version, I hope you know what I mean, see picture attached. Is that possbile or maybe a clear proof that it´s a fake ISA ?
I have also the impression that it maybe did get a hit from a fall/crash (maybe in fighting action ?) so that it´s not 100% perfectly centered anymore. This together with the curved form could be the reason why it seems not perfectly centered.
Does anyone maybe has some more details from a Steagmeier Fake, or some final proof that my ISA is real or not ? What can I do to be 100% sure ?