Ok, so here is the back story....
I was at a flea market in Stevenville Texas way back in the winter of 1989, when I glanced at a table being run by an elderly lady. Amongst her wares was a box of junk jewelry she was selling for .75 cents a pop. I happened to notice this skull nestled in amongst all the baubles. I assumed it was a reproduction, and noted the fairly poor shape it was in. At the price of less than a dollar, I figured I would buy it anyway. Why not?
Flash forward to today. I recently got this badge back in a lot of my belongings that I had left with my ex-wife at the time of our splitting. It occured to me that I really should check to see if the thing is original or not. I'm not a collector, so if I can off load it to finance some new toys, that would be nice. If my original thoughts at it being a fake are correct, I'm still only out .75 cents!
So what say you lot? Is it an original, that I grabbed by pure luck, or just another replica? It's in fairly rough shape, with something like 90% of the plating rubbed off. Also, the upper left side of the dome of the skull is a little mis-shapen as it has been bent in a bit sometime over the years. I can't see any markings on the inside of the badge.
As always pardon the poor quality of my photos.
Martin
Early style SS cap badge?
- Trench_Raider
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Re: Early style SS cap badge?
Fakes were made from day 1 post war BUT given the lack of finish, condition, scenario of finding etc I'd say you have an original, possibly from a kepi given the unusual pins ?
These 1st Pattern skulls are very much under-appreciated in favour of the more iconic 2nd Pattern which fetch considerably more money.
Ian
These 1st Pattern skulls are very much under-appreciated in favour of the more iconic 2nd Pattern which fetch considerably more money.
Ian
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Re: Early style SS cap badge?
Thanks for the reply, Ian. I was thinking it might be from an early "coffee can" type hat as oposed to the usual peaked hat. The pins are a bit unusual, as they are squared of an quite stiff. Here are some other pics I just snapped that show the back and the pins a bit better...
So what would this skull bring on the market, given it's lackluster condition? I've seen similar skulls being sold for about 300$US, but in better shape of course.
Martin
So what would this skull bring on the market, given it's lackluster condition? I've seen similar skulls being sold for about 300$US, but in better shape of course.
Martin
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Re: Early style SS cap badge?
I'm afraid I can't really 'do' valuations ... personally (as I said) I find these are under-valued and less sought after so maybe $200 or there-abouts. John is in the trade so will know better.
Cheers, Ian.
Cheers, Ian.
Re: Early style SS cap badge?
These 1st Pattern skulls were used by numerous, none- SS groups/organizations in the teens and 20s.... so they aren't as iconic as the "normal" SS Skull (2nd pat.) and are alot more numerous....(on the big scale of things)...
I'm not an expert on 1st pattern skull variations.... but I'm not convinced this one is legit.... Not crazy about the squared "pins" but .....the front is very convincing, however.
I agree they are under valued.... this one (if I was convinced it is good) I'd say "around $90.00 retail" IMO.... due to the condition.
However... you should check the "SS Skull" sections/threads on the WAF...(Wehr. awards forum) for more referances....(I haven't lately).
John G.
PS. You should always show a "scale" (ruler/common coin/etc.) as "size matters"
I'm not an expert on 1st pattern skull variations.... but I'm not convinced this one is legit.... Not crazy about the squared "pins" but .....the front is very convincing, however.
I agree they are under valued.... this one (if I was convinced it is good) I'd say "around $90.00 retail" IMO.... due to the condition.
However... you should check the "SS Skull" sections/threads on the WAF...(Wehr. awards forum) for more referances....(I haven't lately).
John G.
PS. You should always show a "scale" (ruler/common coin/etc.) as "size matters"