Greetings All,

I obtained this badge some years ago and presumed it to be a reproduction until I recently compared it with some genuine examples. My hope is that those of you who are more familiar with these badges can provide some pointers for authenticity.

The small size of the badge makes it difficult to photograph clearly, and the color in some of the photos is slightly off, making the metal appear somewhat bronze in hue, when in fact it is a tarnished silver color.

The badge measures 1" & 5/16ths on either side and 1" 1/8th on the top. The RZM mark on the back is extremely small, almost requiring a lens to see clearly. This marking measures under 1/8th of an inch in diameter. The number in the upper right hand corner is M1/105.

The enamel in the text does look somewhat worn, but it otherwise appears consistent with supposedly authentic examples.

The entire piece is only slightly magnetic, leading me to believe that it is perhaps plated copper? Feels too heavy to be aluminum.

Any insight would be greatly appreciated. I thought I recall seeing a thread on Frauenwerk/Frauenschaft badges, but can't seem to locate it now.

Thanks and best regards,

B.A.Vierling

# a.

# b.

# c.

# d. close-up on RZM and number

No - it is a fake. The enamel looks like modern soft enamel and the pinplate is definitely fake (notorious "coffin-shaped" with clipped ends). Quality of the die strike and fill is also poor.

We did have an excellent thread, unfortunatly it's gone.
A few examples shown here.
http://daggers.infopop.cc/eve/...290089805#7290089805

--dj--Joe

Here's a couple of mine. I'll see if I can find a close up of the Frauenwerk badge.

Thank you gentlemen, for the information. I suspected as much but wasn't clear on what I should be looking for. Another purportedly authentic Frauenwerk badge I own has the same coffin shaped pinplate, so that one must be fake as well.

I'm attaching images of the only example in my collection which I believe to be genuine. Since I'm still learning about these, verification would be appreciated.

Thanks!

Front

back

last

That's a good one. These badges had large, round pinplates, or later versions of NSF badges had a large one like this example.

Here are some round backs like yours, only applied horizontally.

Here's an example of the fake "coffin" pinplate on another badge.

Thanks Stephen, feedback and photos much appreciated. One detail I noticed in scrutinizing my own examples is that the real FS badges are slightly convex in form, while the fakes I have are all flat.

I also have a small version of the n.s.frauenschaft badge which appears to be authentic, but the rest of the examples I've obtained over the years are all fake. Amazing how many bad ones are out there! I'm curious why, since this is not an expensive item.

Thanks again

Hi Albrecht,

I didn't notice that yours was flat. You are right - these badges are convex, which is much more difficult and expensive to make (even though fakers are starting to).

I mentioned the enamel (old hard vs. new soft). Have a look between the arms of the two sunwheel swastikas on your badges. You'll see how the fake has the enamel "suc ked in" and the real one is smooth and flat. Modern enamel (actually a hard composite plastic, I think) is poured in and then shrinks a bit as it hardens, which you can see around the metal edges. Old enamel doesn't shrink and is often over-poured, then polished down to the level of the metal, so it is nice and smooth. That's quality and more expensive a process.

Frauenschaft badges are some of the most extensively RZM marked (except for the pre-1934 ones), and feature a large, nice RZM mark. Tiny marks like yours should be a warning sign.

It amazes me that pins that cost $25 when genuine are being faked (even $10 tinnies), but I also know you can have them made in Asia for under $1 each, so there is lots of money to be made on the low end items too - maybe more since they aren't as closely scrutinized.

Here is my large one with a different pin plate.

Here's another little one by the same maker (also early 1935, since there is no "M1" RZM license prefix) showing the big logo and vertical pin.

M1/63 = Steinhauer & Luck

Here's one like Lawrence's, but different maker.

Thank you Stephan and Laurence for the additional reference photos. The explanation on enamel procedures is also much appreciated. I hope that other forum members are finding this information as invaluable as I am.

I had 3 other badges which proved to be fake, all of which were obtained from dealers over the years so I suspect most don't bother to verify the authenticity on these relatively inexpensive items. A shame obviously.

At any rate, after subjecting my somewhat minimal Frauen collection to scrutiny, I've whittled it down to the humble grouping posted below.

The Mitlgliedskarte is obviously for Frauenschaft, but still displays nicely with the Frauenwerk pins. The stamp was obtained separately, and was surprisingly difficult to track down.

Thank you again for taking the time to examine these items on the forum. They are great badges, and the Frauenschaft sector is a hugely interesting field. I hope to expand my own collection in time. An auto pennant would be nice too!

Another shot of the same items, die Karte shown from the front this time.