Allan H. Posted January 5, 2012 Share #26 Posted January 5, 2012 What suprised me the most about this auction was the fact that five different bidders were willing to throw down $400 or more for the bogus jump wing! Russ Russ, You can't protect everyone out there no matter how hard you try and there are far too many gullible collectors out there who don't do their homework. I guess if they are happy, then that is what is important. Last spring I had a fake FSSF officer's 4 pocket blouse at a militaria show. None of the insignia was original- FSSF shoulder patch, parachute oval, shoulder cord and crossed arrows devices. I had a $100 price tag on it. If I had just kept my mouth shut and taken someone's money, I could have sold the jacket at least ten times. Someone would walk up, look at it and ask the price. I would tell them it was $100 and they would reach into their pocket. I would then say, "You know this isn't original, right?" and each and every one of those eager buyers would pull their hand out of their pocket and walk away. While the jjacket looked great from ten feet, it would never pass muster with anyone who has ever seen a real shoulder patch, oval, cord, etc. I have a buddy who set up at SOS last year with a bunch of USMC uniforms and boondockers that were costumes from "The Pacific" and he had the same problem- everyone wanted to buy the dungarees and boondockers until they found out they weren't original. Again, the costumes were good, but they should never pass muster for someone who knows what they are doing. Allan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B-17Guy Posted January 5, 2012 Share #27 Posted January 5, 2012 Thank you all for your input and willingness to share your knowledge. A special thanks to Cliff for his additional investigative efforts and images. I wish there was a more effective way to sound the fraud alarm. I just hope the buyer of this badge Googles the name "Luxenberg" before making payment and stumbles across the collective information provided in this thread. What suprised me the most about this auction was the fact that five different bidders were willing to throw down $400 or more for the bogus jump wing! Russ VERY true. Folks might be surprised if one does a trademark search for Luxenberg, and see's what name comes up as the trademark holder.... Best, John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pfrost Posted January 5, 2012 Share #28 Posted January 5, 2012 These type of fantasy/high cost items always brings up the old saying... "Are you going to believe me, or your lying eyes". Clearly, not one of those bidders even LOOKED at the wing beyond the hallmark. The whole idea of basic collecting craft--know your items, be educated, protect yourself from fraud--seems to have been discarded in a rush to pay stupid money for a really REALLY REEEAAALLLY obvious fake (In fact, I have heard it said that the person who makes museum quality reproductions has said that the wings are purposely made to look cast). Casting instead of die struck, poor quality detail, blurry hallmark... that is basic wing collecting 101. Frankly, most collectors/dealers see the Luxenberg hallmarks on the back of ANYTHING and their eyes light up and the greed bell starts ringing. People willing to toss down that much money for a Luxenberg, I am pretty sure they thought they knew what they were doing and were pretty sure they think they had found a treasure. I'm going to be cold hearted on this one and say if you know enough to recognize the potential value of a Luxenberg wing, are willing to toss stupid money at it on an internet auction, and have the computer skills to sign up for an eBay account, then you have the ability to do a google search for fakes. So, I can't say I have much sympathy for these guys. Heck, its hard enough for me to find good deals for ME to buy, that I don't see myself worrying for the wallets of those with not much sense. On the other hand, it may turn out one day that Luxenberg did in fact make jump wings like that and those of us who poo-poohed these wings as fakes were totally wrong and have egg on our faces. Or not. Either way, I can live with it. :thumbsup: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pconrad02 Posted January 5, 2012 Share #29 Posted January 5, 2012 On the other hand, it may turn out one day that Luxenberg did in fact make jump wings like that and those of us who poo-poohed these wings as fakes were totally wrong and have egg on our faces. Or not. Either way, I can live with it. Maybe they did, but this ain't one of them! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CliffP Posted January 6, 2012 Share #30 Posted January 6, 2012 We could discuss who is or isn't really at fault when these things happen until we are blue in the face but the simple fact remains... that it was just plan wrong. Cliff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brian e Posted January 6, 2012 Share #31 Posted January 6, 2012 imagine that who woulda thunk it VERY true.Folks might be surprised if one does a trademark search for Luxenberg, and see's what name comes up as the trademark holder.... Best, John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pconrad02 Posted January 6, 2012 Share #32 Posted January 6, 2012 Thought that was common knowledge that he bought it a couple of years ago. Guess that means it's not a "fake" or fantasy wing :w00t: it's just one of them NEW Luxenbergs...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mshaw Posted January 14, 2012 Share #33 Posted January 14, 2012 There is another one of these stinkers on ebay now. I guess we can expect to see these with regularity now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rustywings Posted January 21, 2012 Author Share #34 Posted January 21, 2012 There is another one of these stinkers on ebay now. I guess we can expect to see these with regularity now. According to the seller, the winning bidder on the first auction failed to pay, so he relisted it. (Maybe the buyer saw our posted warning.) It sold again yesterday, January 20th, for a price of $389.00 (ebay #330671763570). Looking at the bidding results of this second auction, there were still three collectors willing to drop $350.00 or more for this fake. Thought I'd bump this thread to the top with the chance our efforts might intervene in the completion of the sale (again?). Russ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
militbuff Posted March 2, 2021 Share #35 Posted March 2, 2021 Hi All, this is quite an old posting but I hope someone can help out. I’m posting a pair of Luxenberg jump wings that I recently picked up. They came from the estate of a retired but living Field Artillery Major General along with a bunch of his military items. He served in the Army from 1974-2003 and his father served in the Army (after graduating West Point in 1945) until 1953. I had assumed they belonged to his dad and posted them on ebay. Someone told me they were repros, so I investigated and after coming across this listing, I pulled them down. I was surprised since they had solid provenance and look beautiful. The Luxenberg jump wings I’ve been looking at look different than mine, especially on the back. The writing on mine is incised into the silver whereas the other ones appear to be added on top. However, from this column, it appears that there are no WWII Luxenberg jump wings. Were there Luxenberg jump wings at any time after the war (such as in the late 1940s or during the Korean War) or did they never exist. Is this an obvious fake in terms of the way it looks? I know very little about wings, so any info would be much appreciated. Thanks to all. Dan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Airborne-Hunter Posted March 2, 2021 Share #36 Posted March 2, 2021 12 minutes ago, militbuff said: Hi All, this is quite an old posting but I hope someone can help out. I’m posting a pair of Luxenberg jump wings that I recently picked up. They came from the estate of a retired but living Field Artillery Major General along with a bunch of his military items. He served in the Army from 1974-2003 and his father served in the Army (after graduating West Point in 1945) until 1953. I had assumed they belonged to his dad and posted them on ebay. Someone told me they were repros, so I investigated and after coming across this listing, I pulled them down. I was surprised since they had solid provenance and look beautiful. The Luxenberg jump wings I’ve been looking at look different than mine, especially on the back. The writing on mine is incised into the silver whereas the other ones appear to be added on top. However, from this column, it appears that there are no WWII Luxenberg jump wings. Were there Luxenberg jump wings at any time after the war (such as in the late 1940s or during the Korean War) or did they never exist. Is this an obvious fake in terms of the way it looks? I know very little about wings, so any info would be much appreciated. Thanks to all. Dan I'm not the best expert, but I have yet to see any Repros that are Rhodium plated. I think these are likely fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tonomachi Posted March 2, 2021 Share #37 Posted March 2, 2021 Holy Cow! If there ever was an original Luxenburg paratrooper wing produced during the war this would be the one. It has the patina and wear for something manufactured during WW2 and you have a little provenance. However those of us who have been collect paratrooper wings are always skeptical due to all of the bad stuff that we have encountered over the years. One just like this except it was in mint condition surfaced a number of years ago (see photos). This other Luxenburg paratrooper wing showed no patina or wear without any provenance and it was deemed an outright fake. This fake Luxenburg paratrooper wing matches yours from the pin back assembly to the locations of the hallmarks. The issue that those of us that collect these things have is that how come in 40 plus years of searching for variants of WW2 paratrooper wings have none of us ever come across this wing before? I guess it could have been a prototype made by Luxenburg during the war and never went into full production. If this is the case then this is one of the rarest paratrooper wings out there. This pattern wing was sold by the older Officer's Equipment Company during and after the war in sterling as well as silver plating of some kind over brass which wears upon polishing instead of flaking off like Rhodium. Someone has the dies as they continue to be produced both in pin back and clutch back form. So you have to ask yourself if this was a one of a kind prototype why did Luxenburg contract out with the Officer's Equipment Company to produce this paratrooper wing? I could be wrong but I'm not sure I've ever come across a WW2 era Rhodium plated sterling paratrooper wing. I know that the Japanese during the occupation era used to Rhodium plate their sterling silver jewelry so you wouldn't have to polish them all of the time. So I am stumped as I don't know what to make of your piece. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allan H. Posted March 2, 2021 Share #38 Posted March 2, 2021 These look just like the wing that I stated that I saw at SOS so many years ago. I would be proud to have these in my collection. Great find! Allan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Costa Posted March 2, 2021 Share #39 Posted March 2, 2021 wasnt it noted going back aways that luxenberg never made jump wings? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allan H. Posted March 2, 2021 Share #40 Posted March 2, 2021 10 minutes ago, Costa said: wasnt it noted going back aways that luxenberg never made jump wings? I don't believe that it was ever definitively stated. I know what i saw back in 2010 and reported previously in this thread. I have no reservations about the wing that Militbuff posted. I like Tonomachi's too. I also think that I have a pretty solid footing on which to judge WWII jump wings, but I don't claim infallibility. I would gladly put either of the last two examples into my collection. Allan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pfrost Posted March 2, 2021 Share #41 Posted March 2, 2021 That is some cool beans! Of course, I suspect that Luxenberg never actually manufactured anything, but why quibble? Great find Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allan H. Posted March 2, 2021 Share #42 Posted March 2, 2021 7 hours ago, pfrost said: That is some cool beans! Of course, I suspect that Luxenberg never actually manufactured anything, but why quibble? Great find Touche! Allan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
militbuff Posted March 2, 2021 Share #43 Posted March 2, 2021 Wow! Thanks to everyone for your comments and votes of confidence in the wings. Dan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Insigina Hunter Posted March 3, 2021 Share #44 Posted March 3, 2021 The last time this exact jump wing came up you (Allen) said it was NOT like the one you saw years past ...? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Insigina Hunter Posted March 3, 2021 Share #45 Posted March 3, 2021 . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Insigina Hunter Posted March 3, 2021 Share #46 Posted March 3, 2021 4 hours ago, militbuff said: Wow! Thanks to everyone for your comments and votes of confidence in the wings. Dan These are highly contested though I would take a shot at them if they were available Dan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
militbuff Posted March 3, 2021 Share #47 Posted March 3, 2021 I relisted them back on ebay at 8pm tonight, so you'll have your chance! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allan H. Posted March 4, 2021 Share #48 Posted March 4, 2021 On 3/2/2021 at 6:25 PM, Insigina Hunter said: . Insignia Hunter, you could at least give me the courtesy of providing a link to the post that you are referencing so that I could go back and take a look at it. I BELIEVE that I was referring to the type of FAKE Lux that started this thread. Maybe not. I have never claimed infallibility, but I have been consistent in the way I have described the Lux wing that I encountered at SOS. I believe that the wing that Militbuff has posted is an original and believe that the one Tonomachi has posted also has a pretty good chance of also being a good one (they both have the same attributes), though Tonomachi's doesn't appear to have the frosted top coat that is seen on Militbuff's. Polishing will often remove that frost. Allan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
donaldnol Posted March 5, 2021 Share #49 Posted March 5, 2021 On 1/4/2012 at 1:15 AM, rustywings said: Lux Navigator wing. it looks a little shotty Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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