Help please, good or fake?

[denis pannett]

I have grave doubts about these three badges. 1 The City of London Yeomanry has very different silver centre to my other ones and different jewels in the crown. 2 The 5th Seaforths is not silver and is badly made but most of the others I could find on the internet were the same including the ones in the Highland Museum. I could only see one HMS one and that was for 1916. 3 This Remount has the nasty honeycomb pattern behind the writing, is this honeycomb 100% the sign of a fake?
Look forward to hearing your thoughts
Many thanks Denis

[Luke H]

The Rough Riders I.Y. is indeed fake.

[Alex Rice]

The general consensus is that this style of 4/5th Seaforths badge is fake. I have questioned this and there is a long thread here:
https://www.britishbadgeforum.com/fo...hlight=feather

I still would not write it off. I happened to mention the story to a collector friend literally two days ago and he says he has a family grouping with medals, plaid brooch and 2 feather badge, from WWI, which is identical to the ones everybody says is fake. I have yet to see them but he says he has never questioned the authenticity of the badge as it came from his own family.

Cheers,
Alex

[denis pannett]

Many thanks Luke and Alex for your replies. You have confirmed my suspicions on the COL Yeomanry but I am still undecided on the Seaforths and your story Alex about the family owned one is very interesting plus the links you gave. it is in no way a beautiful badge and I find it hard to love as a skilled piece of craftsmanship but I also find it hard to return as it may well be genuine!
Regards Denis

[Fatherofthree]

Greetings Denis.

Re The Seaforths:
I know as much in respect of these badges as I do about the life of a Kalahari Desert Bushman, (probably less in fact); however, as much as your example is not the prettiest item, I wouldn't discard it on that factor alone.

For such a scarce badge, would a faker make an example as poor as yours?

I would say not and if he did, there would surely be more of the same on the market.

Regards.

Brian

[dubaiguy]

Many, many years ago I drove down to Doune in Perthshire to visit Charlie Claydon, who some of you may remember ran Bluebell Militaria which specialised in all things Scottish. Whilst having a chat, he produced four hallmarked silver feathers in a nicely cushioned jewellery case to a named Colonel. Much to my regret, money was tight and I declined his offer to take them back up the road with me.

All this was a long time ago, but if memory serves, and as you would expect as the number of feathers denotes rank, each feather was separate and each fitted with a pin and clasp arrangement on the rear.

Further to this, a couple of weeks ago an auction house in Glasgow sold a couple of 5th Battalion bonnet badges. I hope I'm not infringing copyright if I show their photographs, as they do illustrate quite nicely similar clasp fittings on the feathers.

I am not saying the badges and feathers sold by this Glaswegian auctioneer are correct and I personally didn't bid, but I think there is probably more chance that they fit the bill if only from an illustrative point of view on how the badge and feathers would be worn.
Mark

[mike_vee]

Found a photo on-line , apparently from the Highlanders' Museum.

.

[Home Guard]

Thanks for the pictures Mark. I always wondered how they attached the feathers, so now I know.

Terry

[dubaiguy]

Originally Posted by mike_vee

Found a photo on-line , apparently from the Highlanders' Museum.

.

The Museum at Fort George near Inverness is well worth a visit if visiting Scotland (though if I remember a bit costly to get in the last time I went).

It appears to my eyes that the four museum badges are from two different dies. The first two appear to have slanting eye sockets, which I've coined as extraterrestrial eyes, whilst the last two look more normal. What do you think, is it just my fevered imagination?

Also, interestingly, all the cats sit quite a bit above the buckle on the strap. There is a definite space. If KK's images are anything to go by, their illustrations shows no space between torse and strap. Though being private purchase badges one would expect variation from retailers.

The badge I have (without feathers obviously) has a regular cat which sits on it's torse directly on the buckle strap. Though whether mine is military or just a clan badge I have no way of knowing.

I'd love to see one with an Anderson or similar tablet on the reverse one day. That would probably clinch it for me.
Mark

[denis pannett]

Many thanks to everyone for your replies and particularly Mark for your photos of the two badges, the most interesting one with the 4 feathers with pins and the (ugly to me) fitting of the feathers so low - I have never seen another like this! The single feather one is beautiful and just what I would have expected. Mike, your views on the Highland Museum ones are interesting and those seem to exactly match mine, however I would love to know if they are silver which I would have expected (Cox book says the badges were silver) or w/m like mine. Mine also matches the photos in Cox's book but as mentioned, those in K&K are very different. Yes, an Anderson plate one would be very helpful. Regards Denis

[dubaiguy]

Ahhh sorry Denis my bad use of English. I didn't mean the four feathers would be worn in a big jumble and low down as arranged by the auctioneer for his sales photo. I was just drawing attention to the pin and clasp fitting arrangement and their relationship with the badge.
Sorry about the misunderstanding.
Mark