Quote:
Originally Posted by Luke H
Fake die Para and Warks from MM catalogue. Also the SAS badge where your example will have come from.
I’m yet to see any evidence a brass or WM badge of this type was ever worn. MM and the die has produced many thousands of repros. If the die was ever original and used 99.9999% of these badges are reproduction. Certainly I would not touch one without provenance and even then it would have to be very water tight.
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Good information on MM Luke, thank you and I agree the Para Reg example is completely fake and was never worn. (It did, however, find its way onto vintage regimental presentational items such as tankards) I based my original comment regarding the slider of the SAS badge originally illustrated on the fact that it appears to be a 'proper' slider compared with the ones used on many of the fake badges. Original slider stock, from closed companies could be picked up very cheaply and stamped with any maker's name which saved the fakers from having to re-invent the wheel thereby reducing cost. That is why some fake sliders are so flimsy but others are very solid. Unlike the most common pattern of fake Para Reg beret badge, there are a number of suspect dies for (non anodised) SAS metal beret badges and each has its own distinctive flaws.
Just to clarify, my stance from the outset has been that the original white metal SAS beret badge at the start of the thread and the majority of maker marked brass slider ORs Parachute Regiment beret badges are fakes.
I also didn't mention that the reason maker marks are traditionally san-serif font (Arial or similar) is that serifs would wear excessively or even break off during the stamping process due to their fine detail.
As requested, I have pulled examples of most of the badges discussed, including Smith and Wright, from my 'Little Shop of Horrors' collection. This is a very economical branch of the hobby as most people donate for free out of their scrap box
The exception is Marples & Beasley and I have an original post War KC Parachute Regiment ORs beret badge with a maker marked brass slider. I don't think the slider had been added to an original badge, so, unless the slider has been stamped to try and increase the apparent rarity of an original badge, this may be an example of the elusive Marples & Beasley ORs badge.
The only catch is that I don't have an image of it (or some of the fake maker marked sliders) to hand so need to photograph them.
I will post images as soon as I can and then everyone can judge for themselves.
In tandem, returning to the original topic, does anyone have any comments on, or different examples of, silver/reversed colour SAS collars please?
Graham