whydavewhy Posted January 5, 2019 Share #1 Posted January 5, 2019 I have read a few discussions about Josten Command Pilot Wings from WWII, and it seems that most of the ones being sold online are either post-WWII, or reproductions. Here are some photos of some Josten Command Pilot Wings, being sold as authentic WWII vintage. The wings have the finish rubbed off of the front shield, revealing a yellow color over the whole shield. The back has a more contemporary-looking “Josten Sterling” stamp on the back than others I have seen. The back also looks very smooth, as opposed to the silver-wash that many older Josten wings have. Perhaps there are also ways to tell if the wings have been "cast," rather than hard die struck, but I don't know what to look for. Also, the entire item is coated in some sort of clear resin that pools in the back edges as a white opaque build-up; this is most obvious in the photo of the back of the wings. I have not seen this type of coating on any WW II wings before, but I have seen the coating on reproductions., so I'm suspicious. Any suggestions would be appreciated! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wake1941 Posted January 5, 2019 Share #2 Posted January 5, 2019 Pictures are super tiny its hard to see Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whydavewhy Posted January 5, 2019 Author Share #3 Posted January 5, 2019 Sorry, the website is limiting the photo size. I tried to delete the 3 small ones, but it wouldn't let me delete them. However, I was able to post 2 slightly larger ones. Really hard to post high res photos with the total upload limited to 251k. Here is a large photo of the back... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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