9th Lancers and Artists rifles.

[jfenzy1]

Hi all, could I get some opinions on these two badges please.

[Luke H]

Both fakes sadly.

[Artynut]

Many questionable badges are posted in this and other sections of the forum. The problem I find is that an answer just stating “It’s fake” or other such similar wording is somewhat disheartening to a new collector and even as in my own case, annoying to find that “I’ve been taken..... again”! It has been stated before that an explanation as to “WHY” it’s fake, rarely gets stated and further, to state why, can be helpful to a faker who then has points to tidy up his work and carry on the dishonesty. Can this be debated here? What are members thoughts now?

[Artynut]

Further to my post above, I have just now put together two photo’s of badges I bought over 30 years ago. One, I now believe to be genuine, the other, I’m sure is fake. Both badges side by side, front & rear, and my notes as to the differences. Is this of use? I believe it could be to a new collector but then, other more knowledgeable members might think my observations are “Old hat” or so widely known as to be of no use. Opinions? Regards, D.J.

[Alan O]

The slider shape and the poor reverse detail on the Lancers title all scream repro to me,

[Luke H]

Originally Posted by Artynut

Many questionable badges are posted in this and other sections of the forum. The problem I find is that an answer just stating “It’s fake” or other such similar wording is somewhat disheartening to a new collector and even as in my own case, annoying to find that “I’ve been taken..... again”! It has been stated before that an explanation as to “WHY” it’s fake, rarely gets stated and further, to state why, can be helpful to a faker who then has points to tidy up his work and carry on the dishonesty. Can this be debated here? What are members thoughts now?

In the nicest possible way the question was closed one asking for an opinion on authenticity not a rationale.

That notwithstanding personally I try to be very precise in my terminology.

Fake = a badge produced from a fake die i.e. different to known originals.
Restrike = a badge produced from an original die outside its period of wear for the collectors market.
Fantasy item = never existed, dreamt up by the fakers.

Conversely to your point if members used the search function and looked at old threads they would not need to ask for the majority of badges as the answer with explanation is contained within numerous threads already. As it is with these two.

I’m always happy to help anyone out but unlike many my time is very limited at the present so unless asked or where it isn’t obvious I won’t be making lengthy replies for information not requested or readily available. Hopefully that explains it, I’m not trying to be guarded. These are both fakes from the MM catalogues.

[Fatherofthree]

Artists Rifles badge;

I will offer these observations:

Minerva is blind, looks like somebody poked her in the eye with a sharp stick.

Looks like she got punched in the mouth, very swollen and mis-shapen lips.

Serpents' heads look more like Conger Eels.

Mr. Punch chin................that's not the way to do it.

Regards.

Brian

[DDEV]

My first goal is to weed out bad badges, so I’m good with the fake or good responses. I do plan to finish my threads with a picture of my old bad badge and my new good one once I acquire them.

I, now, always do a search on this site to find other threads on the badge in question and even if I have doubts about the badge, I like to get it confirmed.

I recently posted a Royal Scots Greys badge that I had my doubts about (knowing where I got it), got confirmation and now it resides with the other fakes.

Now a question about searches. I did a search Royal Scots Greys and got every royal, Scot and grey. Is there a way to get a search for the three words together?

[Alex Rice]

Try putting an underscore between the words, like: Royal_Scots_Greys
That way it should search on the word grouping. If not, search on the least likely word, ie: greys. Royal & Scots are common usage so will crop up a lot, whereas 'greys' is likely to not get a lot of use outside threads for that regiment.
Cheers,
Alex

[jfenzy1]

Gentlemen,
Firstly, thank you all for your response. The two badges I posted, are now firmly in the smelting pot. I think most of you have noticed that I am a novice collector, reasonably new to the forum. I post badges that I am unsure of and ask for comments regarding authenticity. If someone is kind enough to give a response whether short and sweet or detailed, I am grateful. Both Luke H and Alan O have been invaluable in confirming fakes with just a few words, as I respect their vastly superior knowledge. Others such as Brian offer an explanation to help me learn, all of these answers are respected. I do look at other posts and gallery pictures before I post, but not everything is as cut and dried and as easy to find as you may think to an untrained eye. I am not here to poach the secrets of members who have taken years of study to model their craft. I joined to learn, and although my knowledge and literature on the subject of badge collecting is severely limited, I am learning, and weeding out those fakes. Artynut, thank you for your concern for a new member, but it is up to me to learn, not just expect members to disclose the closely guarded secrets of badge collecting. Best regards, Jim.

[Fatherofthree]

Jim, you're more than welcome and thanks for the PM.

Regards.

Brian