Hi Pete
There will probably be a million variations of the 11th Abn as it served overseas from 1942-1955 in Japan, Korea(187th ARCT assigned) and Germany.
All theatre made hand or machine made by seamstress and tailors.
The trick is to know the styles of embroidery from specific years and where the unit was active. As an example occupation period(1945-1950) v 1960's/70's made styles are different, however if you don't know what your looking at it all looks the same "theatre made" pieces.
The same applies to me when I first started collecting British WWII FS(18 months ago), before I started to purchase Pegasus FS, I scoured this forum and others to figure out what I was actually looking at to judge a WWII era peggie.
I follow the same process as I do with US patches , reference material , forums and if you are lucky you learn off people like Paul (3 battalion), Jerry Bond, Mike B, Mike J, Post Warden and the like.
I am always learning and asking specific questions on manufacturing techniques of the era, as I see it as part of the armory against fakes and reproductions.
Hopefully I can repay in kind by sharing knowledge.
Phill
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