Do they fake Dog Tags?

[Tonomachi]

I picked this up today at the flea market for 20 dollars which is a lot of money for a dog tag at flea markets. I decided to take a chance as I felt this was a dog tag to a former member of the 442nd RCT. I checked the Internet and confirmed that the name on this dog tag belonged to a member of the 442nd RCT, 3rd Battalion, Company L. Since there are still dog tag stamping machines out there I was wondering if they are stamping out counterfeit dog tags. If someone is making counterfeit dog tags how do you tell them from an original dog tag if they are simply copying the information from an original to a copy?

 

 

 

 

[Tonomachi]

Since we are on the subject of dog tags I found another at the flea market for 3 dollars. I was wondering if this was a legitimate dog tag as some of the numbers you normally see are missing and I have never seen BAPTIST SON stamped on one before.

 

 

[USdog]

Hmmm. The off-center letters scare me a bit but it has a chance of being real. Spacing looks OK on it. Do you have any clearer photos?

[doyler]

Since we are on the subject of dog tags I found another at the flea market for 3 dollars. I was wondering if this was a legitimate dog tag as some of the numbers you normally see are missing and I have never seen BAPTIST SON stamped on one before.

 

 

 

 

Maybe a dependants tag? Son of the individual listed below?

[z19]

Yes sir...where there is money involved there are fakes. I've seen some really good 82nd & 101st fake tags. Alex

[Tonomachi]

Hmmm. The off-center letters scare me a bit but it has a chance of being real. Spacing looks OK on it. Do you have any clearer photos?

Here are some more photos.

[Tonomachi]

With flash photos

[USdog]

I looked up his NOK address and it checks out. So that helps. I can also see a bit of wear around hole and some aging and dirt in the letters which is a good sign. I would go with it being good.

 

I will try and look for real examples I have of the off center lettering. That’s the only thing that bugs me with it.

[Tonomachi]

I looked up his NOK address and it checks out. So that helps. I can also see a bit of wear around hole and some aging and dirt in the letters which is a good sign. I would go with it being good.

 

I will try and look for real examples I have of the off center lettering. That’s the only thing that bugs me with it.

Many thanks for your observations.

[jguy1986]

Regarding the misaligned tetanus dates, this could have been his secondary set issued originally without t-date, just name, ASN, and NOK info. Later on when he got his booster shot, they were updated with that and his blood type, rather than issuing a brand new set. I have a set where they clearly squeezed in a T-date rather than make up a new set. Of course, with a 442nd connection anything is possible, but I think there is a good chance of them being legit.

[Tonomachi]

Regarding the misaligned tetanus dates, this could have been his secondary set issued originally without t-date, just name, ASN, and NOK info. Later on when he got his booster shot, they were updated with that and his blood type, rather than issuing a brand new set. I have a set where they clearly squeezed in a T-date rather than make up a new set. Of course, with a 442nd connection anything is possible, but I think there is a good chance of them being legit.

Thanks for the additional information.

[MattS]

Considering WW2 records are online, NOS blank tags are available in the hundreds of thousands, and stamping machines are still operating, yes. There are plenty of fake dog tags (including ones sold at markets in Vietnam I've heard) out there.