Possible CAF (Canadian Air Force) 1920 collar variant?

[zorgon]

The two basic recognized variants for the CAF collars are those with and without motto. In addition, at least the version with motto had separate designs for Officers and the enlisted airman. I recently purchased a CAF collar knowing it was unusual but curiosity got the better of me. Now that I’ve had a chance to examine it, it’s different than any I’ve seen and I would ask forum members for their thoughts. While it could be a replica, I’ll post it here rather than on the Reproductions Forum.
The collar looks, in most respects, to be a 2nd issue (with motto) enlisted version of the collar (2nd image below). The main body is of one piece construction and the CAF monogram is riveted over the maple leaf, as one would expect. In every respect it initially appears identical to the 1920-24 issue (34 mm in height) and weighs the same. The bothersome issue is the crown which should have very little void in the airman’s issue. This example resembles the officer’s issue crown which has a much larger void to allow the red woven silk material to be visible sandwiched between the copper back plate and the sterling silver metal front. The officer’s issue however has a separate copper-bronze maple leaf which fastens in a different manner so it isn’t an Officer’s issue missing the backing plate and red silk.
I would have guessed this was a manufacturing, one-off error of the crown substitution except I have recently seen images of other examples with this misplaced crown - I had never observed this before, which of course doesn’t mean it’s not a legitimate and recognized version. Further, I have seen images of a more complete variant set with an odd luster suggesting that all items, including the pilot’s wing exist. There is nothing intrinsically wrong with that if they are sold as being different or post-period from the normal issue of that era.
..It’s possible that this collar was a period piece, produced by a different manufacturer or was a submitted design that was rejected over the more commonly seen version of the collar. If this collar is a post-period reproduction, it is of exceptional quality and one would almost think they must be using original dies. There are several other minuscule tell-tale indicators which differ from the recognized original version on each of the components of the badge. It’s definitely not from the 1967 reproduction sets I have seen.
Perhaps there were variants, of which I am unaware, during the 4 or 5 years this badge set was manufactured?
If anyone owns, has photographs, or has seen this variant please post (or PM me) images and reply to say when you saw or acquired them so we can narrow down its first appearance and hopefully usage and legitimacy.