British WWII Campaign Stars - real or fake? - British & Commonwealth Military Badge Forum

rcaf*100 · #1 14-07-22, 05:21 AM

Hello all,

Not sure if this is the ideal spot for this query -- I am still new to the forum and getting acquainted with the vast library of resources. I have slowly been buying up some medals on my wish list to go along with my modest collection of badges & other insignia. The campaign stars in particular are very convincing, with a nice brownish copper patina but I am not sure if they are genuine anymore... I had attempted to clean one of them which was starting to turn green on the ends of the points (I have already done quite a bit of research into verdigris and needed to know if that's what it was).

A quick dip in an acetone bath and some gentle rubbing, at first it didn't come off but with a Q-tip most of the stain was removed, so not verdigris. At first I was relieved but the acetone had turned a brownish-yellow colour. I have read that acetone won't affect the medal so it seems to me this shouldn't happen. A second bath in fresh acetone removed the greenish film which had formed during evaporation but the heavier soiled areas which I had been able to remove have actually turned purple when held under light at the right angle, and it seems permanent.

Can any of the more knowledgeable collectors tell me if it is normal for the patina to actually turn purple under these conditions? Or have I ended up with a fake that was dipped in some sort of soluble coating to make it look more convincing? If so, it is a very good replica... thanks in advance.

rcaf*100

Bill A · #2 14-07-22, 11:29 AM

Hello rcaf*100, welcome to the Forum. Your account is active and open for posts.

XIII · #3 14-07-22, 12:17 PM

One way of spotting copies is to run your finger nail over the surface behind the lettering. It should feel rough like a matchbox striker. If it is smooth it’s a copy. The example you have shown looks to be smooth?

Alex Rice · #4 14-07-22, 12:37 PM

It looks ok to me but it would be best if you post front and rear photos of the whole star.
Cheers,
Alex

QSAMIKE · #5 14-07-22, 03:59 PM

Hello RCAF......

Looks OK to me..... There are two ways that I clean verdigris off medals and badges..... 1. If heavy I place in small bowl and cover with good old Ketchup for 24 to 36 hours...... 2. If light I place in an old hockey (wool) sock and put in with a load of laundry, found out this one when I accidentally left a medal in a pocket and it came out like new.....

Attached photo of some that I cleaned that way.....

Mike

gary1666 · #6 14-07-22, 06:45 PM

Hi,
Looks fine to me, the attached pic is my grandfathers, been with him since issued straight after the war, then to me when he passed. It has hints of the same purple hue on the orb, granted not as much as yours but still that same colour.
The background on the cypher is smooth, that on the wording at the outer is stippled.
Should also say as well the majority of the Stars have low value on their own so not worth faking I wouldn't have thought at this point. Obviously ACE are faked as it's worth the fakers doing it for those.

rcaf*100 · #7 15-07-22, 01:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gary1666

Hi,
Looks fine to me, the attached pic is my grandfathers, been with him since issued straight after the war, then to me when he passed. It has hints of the same purple hue on the orb, granted not as much as yours but still that same colour.
The background on the cypher is smooth, that on the wording at the outer is stippled.
Should also say as well the majority of the Stars have low value on their own so not worth faking I wouldn't have thought at this point. Obviously ACE are faked as it's worth the fakers doing it for those.

Gary,

This is helpful, thanks. I figured as much about the Aircrew Europe Star... there are a lot of different versions of it floating around.

rcaf*100 · #8 15-07-22, 01:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by XIII

One way of spotting copies is to run your finger nail over the surface behind the lettering. It should feel rough like a matchbox striker. If it is smooth it’s a copy. The example you have shown looks to be smooth?

Hi, thanks I did not know that. It is hard to tell from the tiny photos but yes there is stippling behind the lettering.

Cheers

rcaf*100 · #9 15-07-22, 01:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gary1666

Hi,
Looks fine to me, the attached pic is my grandfathers, been with him since issued straight after the war, then to me when he passed. It has hints of the same purple hue on the orb, granted not as much as yours but still that same colour.
The background on the cypher is smooth, that on the wording at the outer is stippled.
Should also say as well the majority of the Stars have low value on their own so not worth faking I wouldn't have thought at this point. Obviously ACE are faked as it's worth the fakers doing it for those.

-Double post please disregard-

Wobbler · #10 15-07-22, 06:52 AM

An excellent place to go if you want to know for sure you’re buying genuine medals, or to find out more about them, is here:

https://britishmedalforum.com/

They have a For Sale and Wanted section too, same as here.

Waterloo1815 · #11 15-07-22, 08:10 AM

Another detailed source of information on potential fakes can be found on North East Medals website, just copy and paste the link below into Google, or you can just search their website for the article. Some great pictures showing originals vs fakes.

https://www.northeastmedals.co.uk/br...tish_index.htm

From what I can see of yours, it looks okay.
Regards,
Leo

rcaf*100 · #12 15-07-22, 10:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alex Rice

It looks ok to me but it would be best if you post front and rear photos of the whole star.
Cheers,
Alex

Alex,

Thanks for looking. Here is the full star. What do you think of the striations along the edge and what appears to be a single sprue mark? Are those normal?

Cheers

Alex Rice · #13 16-07-22, 06:55 AM

Hi RCAF 100
The marks on the edge are totally normal, where the medal was struck by the die and the medal cut out. Often the fakes don't have those those so it is a good sign on these stars. The sprue mark is more likely just a fault as these were stamp and not cast. I am sure the medal is 100% genuine.
Cheers,
Alex

Nozzer · #14 16-07-22, 09:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gary1666

Should also say as well the majority of the Stars have low value on their own so not worth faking I wouldn't have thought at this point. Obviously ACE are faked as it's worth the fakers doing it for those.

ALL of the stars have been faked for many years and continue to be to this day. I got my fingers burnt with a pacific star back in the 1980's and made sure that it never happened again. Of course, things have become slightly more difficult in recent years as medals are still being issued to recipients (and next of kin) which are different to the original strikes.