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.  

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.    

Only marking on the case.

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.

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. 

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     

Still a great gun that would make John Browning proud.

Thanks. I’ve had these forever & really thought (to myself) that the black bullion eagle was either a fake or by some chance a People’s Court eagle. As far as the political one goes, the only two examples I’ve seen (online & in person) were affixed to caps. Vast majority appear to be metal ones. And for the “Italian &/or French”/foreign made one, I really have no idea. I’ve been burned out of my own ignorance or by the right sales pitch with regard to TR items that I stopped wasting my $ on it a very long time ago. Some other time I’ll post a sleeve shield I was assured was original, but you know how that goes. 

Would need to authentic with proven "French made and Italian made" examples to compare.. AND with the RZM tag... No good....   I would have to look at my Political Party uniform books to compare...    Right now, they are just hearsay thoughts: maybe this may be that....Where is the evidence? Period photos sometimes are helpful to either confirm or deny...Sometimes collectors will use these terms if they are either unsure or want to get rid of a fake/copy in a hurry...hence it becomes someone else's problem   Leigh    

I appreciate the candor, that’s why I posted them. Just to clarify, these are three separate purchases(the “Italian/French” one & the HJLW were from the same collector). So you’re not keen on the political cap eagle? How about the “Italian”(or French) made one?

Thanks I do see the notch you are talking about 

It’s called the take down lever. Look at the grooves in the slides on the earlier models. You will see a notch that the take down lever locks in to. Yours does not have that notch.