Any S.A Flashes for me?

[Young Gun]

Hi,

I collect S.A Flashes, I would like to know where I could get real S.A Flashes for cheap prices. If you know where I could get or if you have flashes for me, please tell me.

Regards

Young Gun

[oc14]

Thats going to get the offers flooding in - letting people know that you only want items if they are cheap.

PL

[Milmed]

Hi Young Gun,
That is quite a tall order you are asking for, but having said that, here is some information and/or advise.

The lucite on metal flashes were worn with service dress (khaki green tunic) roughly at the time the new tunic came into use c.1974/75 and worn through to the 1990's I believe.
There were also plastic (refered to as tupperware by those who wore them) that were adopted sometime in the early 80's. This was worn to smarten up the browns(nutria) uniform. I believe the issue of these was to reduce the cost of issuing step out service dress uniform to all national service men.

During the bush war and into the 90's the collecting of these flashes were still relatively easy and you could get badges quit cheaply (R1 to R2) per flash. Lately though there has been a rush by ex SADF guys to get a set of there flashes as well as a new group of collectors interested in flashes like yourself. As with any product the supply and demand has pushed up prices, and brought out the speculators (those that pay anything to get a flash and thereby inflating the price hoping to make a small profit at the end of there buying spree) and the fakers (replicating flashes that are in high demand.... though they are even replicating common items now)

My advice would be the following:
1. Research, research, research - Learn to identify fakes from real items by handling both and speaking with reputable collectors and dealers. As you live in Rustenburg, try contacting Andrew Dinnes (user name Traist) who lives in your neck of the woods and put together a book on Border War Badges. I am sure he has handled many flashes and would be willing to share his knowledge. Also search on this forum for advice and even contact James McKenzie (samilitaria.com) for info on special forces flashes. I think he has done some write up on his web site on identifying fake insignia.

There are two kinds of fakes out there. Those items that never existed (like the rhodesian and Koefoet flashes). These hit the market about 10 years ago and sold for very high prices (mostly to foreign collectors). Once the word was out that they were fictitious, the punters quickly changed there song to say that they were commemorative flashes. Then there are those who have had flashes made up as supply dwindled and demand increased (this was done post 1990's and copies/fakes produced to supply the demand for flashes). In both cases most of these can be identified by the way the badge was made. These are cheaply made with the use of a computer generated image, printed on a type of paper, glued to a shield shaped piece of chromed brass (even raw brass) and covered with a plastic lucite. Original badges had the design stamped or pressed out into brass sheet, chromed, design filled out with enamel paint and then covered with lucite (resin). Later on (1980's - 1990's) to reduce cost and speed up production, the design was screen printed in enamel directly onto a flat shield and then covered in lucite.

2. Decide what to collect - To collect all flashes will need lots of money or lots of time. Specialising in a specific unit or group may be the way to go, then you can concentrate your spending on completing a collection.

3. Decide what you want to spend - Once you have done your research and decided on what to collect, set a maximum price you are willing to spend. This avoids the pitfall of overspending that some people have already done and are know struggling to recoup there financial outlay. I have found that if you are patient, you will eventually get all the badges you are looking for at a price you are willing to spend. ( A good ball park figure to look at is around the R50 for metal and R30 for tupperware. The specialist unit item will of course be much higher)

4. Find a reputable dealer who can source your missing items and a price you are willing to pay.

Finally happy collecting and remember it will all come with patience and persevernce.

Regards
Steven

[Young Gun]

Hi Steven,

Thank you for the awesome information! I loved it! I also wanted to tell you that Andrew Dinnes (Traist) is my Dad. My name is Gregor Dinnes, I am currently a scholar and I work for the flashes that he gives me, I also use my pocket money to buy some. I am enjoying learning about them.

Regards

Young Gun

[Milmed]

Hi Gregor,
OK cool, so you have a very knowleagble collector right on your doorstep

Have you decided to specialise in any specific area or collecting in general?

I served in the Medical Services, so collect medical badges. I have a small collection of medical flashes. The first ones from the late 1960's to c. 1974/5 were made in cloth. Then the medics got new lucite covered metal flashes (design of shield slightly larger than other corps/units flashes). Finally after 1983 the medics got new flashes of the same shape as other units. These wer hardly ever worn on the new sand coloured tunic, so not many were made. Unfortunately as most medical units did not wear them, very few were officially made so are quite rare. You will find copies of these on the market as the fakers produced them to fill the gaps. Only the medical battalions (citizen force) and medical training units wore the new flashes, so these can be found and are official.

Steven