Rare zinc Hymmen L/53 marked Kriegsabzeichen für Minensuch - U-Boots - Jagd - und Sicherungsverbände.

[Adrian]

The next badge to be added to my collection of Minesweeper badges is this zinc Hymmen & Co of Ludenscheid.

This is variant M4.1.5 and is marked on the back of the waterspout with L/53 as part of the die rather than being stamped post production. All Hymmen Minesweeper badges are marked in this way.

The badge has suffered from a loss of finish as is to be expected on worn zinc awards but still retains a good amount. It is heavily vaulted and has the initials J W scratched into the reverse either side of the catch.

The reverse hardware is a block hinge mounted prone rather than vertically which can be seen on variant M4.1.6 and is the difference between the two awards. It appears that the hinge has come off at some point, likely when the badge was vaulted. It's quite a significant bend so not beyond the realms of possibility it popped off during the process and was then re-attached quite professionally. Unfortunately the heat has discoloured the reverse and to a lesser extent the obverse around the eagle but it's obviously a combat worn badge and is part of the history of it.
The catch is a stamped sheet metal one mounted on a circular base plate and set into a recess that forms part of the die.

[martinw]

A nice personalised zinc Hymmen.

Cheers,Martin.

[rbminis]

A nice example, and still retains a lot of finish for a zincer.
That is quite the vaulting job for sure!
Ralph.

[Adrian]

It's the most vaulted badge I have and I was lucky to get it.
Went down the Google rabbit hole following links and seeing dealers I'd never heard of before.
Went on one such site and saw this badge, never seen one for sale before and there it was. Amazingly the tombak badge I posted today was right next to it, again, never have seen one for sale.
So on some random dealer site were two rare variants from a rare maker, right next to each other.
My lucky day.

[Shockwave]

Sometimes there's treasure down the rabbit hole

[Shockwave]

This must be one of the Hymmen badges where the eagle appears to be looking both directions at once?

[Adrian]

This must be one of the Hymmen badges where the eagle appears to be looking both directions at once?

Yes, you look at most Hymmen Minesweeper badges and it has that appearance to a lesser or greater degree depending on the material, die wear etc.