Whether we like it or not, the fact is that some items made during the time of the Third Reich were of inferior quality. Inferior quality does not make an item fake, but it does illustrate that the people who made them were human. Judging by the overall quality of the casting in my humble opinion the mold makers (sand cast(?) at Voos were amateurs. Amateurs who simply got it wrong in multiple areas. I think that the first image Jim posted is a die casting, which (with die makers that know what they are doing) is going to create more or less perfect examples every time. (With Jim�s second image the ferrule I think is a die casting. But I can�t tell for sure with the knucklebow and would have to see the underside.)
I have seen past discussions about eagles facing right. And eagles facing left. If you look at officially approved period military decorations you will see both: And eagles with wings out, wings in, at angles, (etc.). I have never seen an approved army decoration with the swastika rotating in the opposite direction. My point being that there was quite a bit of latitude in the design of the eagles - but not the direction of the swastika�s rotation.
Which as I stated seems to be a sign of a factory with less skilled/knowledgeable workers. And that the maker seems to have been reluctant to destroy or rework the sword hilt before shipping for reasons that we can only guess at.
But ultimately a lack of quality (or beauty) does not necessarily affect originality - it is what it is ........... FP
