Friedrich Linden (FLL) Flugzeugführerabzeichen.
In my quest to show that you can collect high end awards on a budget as long as you don't mind the odd flaw, I recently obtained a Flugzeugführerabzeichen or Pilot's Badge made by Friedrich Linden of Lüdenscheid.
For some reason Linden awards are underappreciated by a lot of collectors which is a shame because they made some high quality and very well detailed awards. I have to be honest and say I actually prefer them over several of the more sought after makers. The good thing is is that the prices for FLL are generally a lot lower which is good for those who collect them.
This is a tombak badge which aren't as common as the usual zinc badges which appear for sale frequently and suffer from the finish absorbing in to the base metal.
Not so with the tombak awards, this one has retained a good amount of original finish, the base metal is showing through in places but there is still a nice amount of the silver finish on the wreath. The eagle is chemically darkened and a feature of the FLL production is the red hue that appears often on these aged badges. It is not a sign in this case of any post war alterations.
The design of the eagle is very distinctive to FLL and one of the easiest to spot.
Unfortunately this example has a missing catch and a section of pin is missing but I paid a very acceptable price for a tombak badge in very good condition for display and who displays their awards with the back side facing out?
The hinge is typical for FLL, who used this inverted block hinge as well as a sheet metal wrap around configuration.
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