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  • Recent Posts

    • Marshallj
    • Netz
    • Netz
      Here are some Deutsche Arbeitsfront items which I’ve researched, but again want your feedback. During the course of my research, I’ve seen the same Lieferant # on many, but cannot find the correlation to a particular maker/location. In addition, the examples I found all have what looks like a sloppy job with regard to how the tab was soldered/attached. Some a lot worse than others.
    • Tonomachi
      Now I could be wrong but this just doesn't look right to my eyes as it is too mint and it looks like the copy in Post 28 (second from top).  
    • Tonomachi
      The Pegasus SSI doesn't look right at all and does not match any known examples that I am aware of.  It might even be post war Belgium that wear a similar SSI.  The SAS wing is harder to authenticate as supposedly there are very good copies that are floating out there in the collector's market.  I can't tell them apart so I stay away from this wing.  I have come across a number within the past couple of years with a black paper backing but do not know if this is the key to determining if you have a copy or not.  Some say this is a WW2 era piece and others say it is post war.   My understanding is that this was produced during WW2 but the vast majority of the photographs of it being worn are post war so it is associated with post war Malaya.  There are photographs of it being worn in the 1950s and 1960s but again it was supposedly manufactured during WW2.  
    • Tonomachi
      There is a very good copy of this printed straight airborne title made by Pegasus Militaria but your piece is genuine.  You can tell by the shape of the "O" which is oval while the copy is more round and the thickness of the left leg on the "A" is correct while the copy is slimmer.   Regarding value my guess is around 50 to 75 dollars as they still come up for sale on eBay.  As you know they were worn under the Pegasus SSI by all units to including Air Landing and Airborne.  There is actually no rule to who wore it and who didn't. There are plenty of pictures out there showing soldiers from the same unit, parachute or glider borne, both wearing it and not wearing it.  You sometimes see troops with both Airborne title and Airborne strip, though the strip was intended only for wear by non parachute or glider troops.   They were approved in October of 1942 and then ceased to be issued in December of 1944 as being redundant due to the airborne wings and Pegasus SSI being renown for airborne.  They were still being worn at the end of the war as the stipulation was that it would no longer be worn after remaining stocks were exhausted.   So it only existed officially for just over two years.  
    • SARGE
      This is a paper "point of sale" card advertising Carl Eickhorn edged weapons.  So the Army officer goes into his tailor shop for a new uniform and spots this stand up card on the counter reminding the customer of swords for sale to accompany his new uniform.  Just like putting candy bars at the check out stand for a quick point of sale opportunity.    
    • Otter42
    • Netz
      I got the HJLW patch & the “Italian/French” eagle (and several pieces of field equipment) from a collector (I forgot his name) who had a shop on Rt. 4 in NH back in the early ‘90s. He lived in southern Maine and he was always a “straight shooter”. He had an amazing personal collection in his home & would bring pieces in the shop (for display only) & would sell things he either already had or things which did not interest him much at his shop. He did have a small amount of repro items he labeled in a separate cabinet. These are two reproductions I knowingly purchased from him in about ‘92/‘93.
    • jmd62
      Hey there Leigh and well said. I'm think we both were fortunate, if you're referring to the same John that helped me along. He's very missed. 
    • Rakkasan187
      It's a bummer to know that some of the items are fake/reproduction. I was very gullible as a kid and believed the folks selling the stuff, not thinking that someone would take advantage of a young kid, but lo and behold... I learned a lot the hard way...until I found a reputable and respected collector who mentored me. I learned a lot from this person.. RIP John..   Leigh     
    • Marshallj
      Still a great gun that would make John Browning proud.
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