found this at auction,,is it original???..

marked "21" on back plate

I have never handled one, but looking at it, an from what I do know about them, I think it may be real~! (they are really rare)

I think it is real. Sold for $1000, plus 15% commission. Well bought, I would say.

yep that was cheap. who had it?

Auction house in SC. Not sure of the name. "Meares" or "Mearen." Something close.

Does snyone know what the weird little clip thingies are under the nuts?

I would love to buy it

i thought these were made from aluminum,,,this one did not look like it was,but a different base medal,,,

would be interesting what you see on the badge reverse. The front looks convincing to me but would need a better photo of the skull, clear and in detail. The backing plate and the scews on this example are for my view not the original ones to this badge. Also I don't want to say much details as I don't want to school the fakers.
In case you can send me always an email as well.

I don't know for certain, but believe at least some were made of nickel-silver.

quote:

Originally posted by Grumpy:
Does snyone know what the weird little clip thingies are under the nuts?

I would say they are "French locks", so the nuts don't back off.

Thanks, Raymond. Never saw the critters before.

Here's a photo I pirated for my files.

It is a newer copy and shows the weak parts.

,,mom has a ...mustache?
Now I don't feel so bad about missing this jewel.
When it seems too good to be true...
At a k+...I'd be

Rats! They're reproducing EVERYTHING!

Totaly fabricated reproduction.

Originals never were produced in silver but always in aluminum to match the Tuxedo's aluminum buttons.

Thanks John for putting it in perspective.
Its definitely NOT something I would have
wasted money on.
Seiler (Yank in UK)

When were these first manufactured? There is so little information on them, these repro's could have fooled me (and others, too, apparently). I can understand why information on authentic ones are not made public to foil the fakers. It used to be repro's of these were easily spotted, with their pinback attachments, incorrect skull designs, etc. Now, if you can find one that looks real, it's another headache to deal with wondering if it's the real thing.

I'm glad that John chimed in on this one. As far as I know he's one of the few guys that has an original.

Again, I do not have one. And I understand the secrecy with these, as Herr Robert said, we don't need to school the fakers.


But are all the tuxedo buttons done in aluminum?
I could have sworn I saw some in a silver high-polish (non aluminum) finish over the years.

All originals I know of are made in aluminium and really sharp.
The reverse back plate and nuts are totally bogus as Robert and others pointed out.

It is a sad fact that there exists very good cast reproduction of this rare badge. However I do not think they have got the reverse correct yet. And the sloppy letters as pointed out are clear give aways. Because so few has handled a real one it makes it even harder to sort out a a bad one from the originals.

Photos of the reverse of originals should never be published in open.

I own a fully intact original Tuxedo badge from the estate of Untersturmfuhrer Yngve Hellenborg.
A lucky find but I had to pay dearly for it.

//Felix

felix,,,could you pm me with a pic of the reverse?...it would be very much appreciated,,i will keep it under lock and key..

Thanks for all of the great info guys! That's why I love this forum, I can always learn something new.