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I got a bad F&B.L Nahkampfspange close combat
Me again, still sorting through what I thought I had. Based on more than one website it appears my Nahkampfspange (close combat clasp) is a high-quality fake, given away by the incorrect orientation of the F&B.L mark with regard to the catch.
Annoying. 12 years ago, the books on fakes had such obvious examples of bad badges I felt good about this one.
bent shape, magnetic center plate, well made, wide pin, etc. I saw another post a similar fake (in gold) here, which was my first clue I had a problem. That thread was terse and basically said "the grenade and bayonet were all over the place" meaning poor quality I think.
I have looked at this thing a lot over the last few days and I swear I'd buy it again if it was unmarked, as this seems the only giveaway. Note that the markings are raised/positive, so in theory someone could grind them off and sell as unmarked.
I spent some time searching for repro CCCs, and all the ones I found were clearly faked/poor quality, compared to this one anyway.
So, maybe I have the word's best fake, or the only known example of F&B.L making their mark wrong. Please help me decide.
Also, I read on another site that another give away to this repro is that the backing plate and bottom of the badge are not parallel, and I think I see this in my item as well.
FWIW, cost me 50 bones in '99 on ebay. May well have been worth it, but I did not want a repro.
On to the pics.... (edit, battery died in cammera, be right back)...
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01-16-2010 07:08 PM
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Re: I got a bad F&B.L Nahkampfspange close combat
I should clarify that. I believe mine to be bad because the maker mark is right-side up, under the pin catch. Originals from this maker are supposed to be upside down, above the catch.
HTHs
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Re: I got a bad F&B.L Nahkampfspange close combat
I should add I'm by no means an expert, and perhaps the Admins should change the thread icon should be changed to other than fake-alert. My real intent, and hope of the thread, was to have someone offer proof showing my badge is, in fact, pre 1945. Sadly, I'm still waiting, but then again, proof of anything is hard to come by.
I'm just a poor slob trying to figure out if there is any historical significance to my badge. At the time, all the googling (or was it alta-vista back then?) and the few books I had, indicated the item was good to go. Fast forward 12 years and bang, the net has evolved to offer forums like this.
I find this link interesting as it implies a "bad" F&B.L bronze CCC made it into an authoritative book. I don't own a copy, but perhaps someone here does and can comment:
SS Uniforms, Insignia, & Accoutrements book - Wehrmacht-Awards.com Militaria Forums
Something tells me if it does show my clasp, it would be worth owning a copy so I could sell the two as a set.
just kidding.
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