Never seen before hallmark on British made US paratrooper wing

[Tonomachi]

This piece is suspect just because you would have thought one would have popped up over a 40 year period of searching for variations of WW2 US paratrooper wings. I feel it is bogus like many that have come from the UK. It is convincing to the unaware and I thought it would be interesting to look closely at these hallmarks. I believe some of the other things this eBay seller has for bid is suspect as well for those that collect British made US flight wings.

 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/USAF-WW2-Parachutist-Badge-Maker-Hallmarked-1944-Normandy-Arrowhead/192880498428?hash=item2ce892d6fc:g:naMAAOSw9m9cpgwu

 

 

[Tonomachi]

Back.

[Tonomachi]

I checked a website with pictures of different British silver marker marks. I looked up Spencer & Company out of London. I found this possible hallmark from 1900 for Spencer & Co., Queen Street, London.

 

 

 

 

[Tonomachi]

The three hallmarks on the right side are hard to make out but look like an Anchor in a shield, Lion in a shield and the letter "U" in a shield. Checking this website again the Anchor in the shield is the hallmark for the Assay Office of Birmingham, the Lion in the shield is a purity mark of 92.5% British silver and the last is a date letter "U" which is for the years 1944 to 1945. So everything checks out but I feel it is still a bogus piece and even doubt if this metal is actually silver but was wondering what others thought about this piece.

 

 

[tarbridge]

I've never seen this maker...interesting...

[triplecanopy]

I have never seen or heard of this maker before. From what I can observe, it does Not look to be cast. It compares closely with known British made wings in style and appearance. The assay marks are kind of cool and have not seen those before on a Parachute Badge. I do know that both old European and Arabic countries used different symbols to indicate the type of metal and purity on jewelry. I also agree with Tonomachi and am skeptical about its authenticity. Who want to jump in and buy it?

[Allan H.]

Scary...

 

Allan

[Persian Gulf Command]

I'm going to make a blanket statement regarding British Jump Wings. Conceding that I have been down that road and handled a few (not as many as some). I will only consider British Jump Wings correct WW2 manufacture if they are bronze/brass base metal with a silver wash. I feel any of the white base metal example Hallmarked or not to be post war copies. The OP set appears to be a white base metal. Additionally, if a British Jeweler was to create a Hallmarked/proofed set if silver wings their stampings would have been clearer w/ more detail. Even during war time they had pride in their product.

[Kilroy56]

I will only consider British Jump Wings correct WW2 manufacture if they are bronze/brass base metal with a silver wash.

How interesting ! Would this be true for other British made wings ?

[pfrost]

Here are a couple-four things. First, the British Assay marks are extremely well documented and can be easily found online (http://www.silvercollection.it/englishsilverhallmarksBIR.html). And as long as these hallmarks have been required on Commonwealth-made items using precious medal, the hallmarks have been faked. Its even easier since you can quickly pick a company and probably buy some stamps off of eBay.

 

https://www.realorrepro.com/article/Confusing-marks-on-silver-and-silverplate

 

Sometimes the hallmarks are just fantasy stamps, designed to LOOK like British assay marks, some are actually made using the "appropriate stamp" by added with counterfeit stamps. In either case, the buyer should be aware and probably look past the literal meaning of the stamps and take the whole item at face value. Also, the hallmarks are wrong. The British system should include 4-5 hallmarks

1) symbol for the town

2) symbol for the year of manufacture

3) symbol representing the maker's mark or sponsors mark--usually their initials

4) symbol for the standard mark guaranteeing the silver content.

Here is the Spencer of London's hallmark (like posted above, but with a larger view) showing the RS (for Richard Spencer). This item probably dates from the 1900.

 

To me, the first thing that jumped out was the assay marks do not look anything BUT fake. You can look at vintage non-fake assay marks all day and not find one that is that crude and crappy as the ones on this jump wing--jump wings that are notoriously faked at almost crazy levels to take advantage of airborne collectors. Also, I find the maker mark to be highly suspect.

 

Then, if you move away from the hallmarks, it is pretty clear that this wing is probably not sterling silver. You never know with the lighting, but if you look at enough sterling silver wings, you do get a feel for what is what isn't.

 

Then, if you apply the general rules that many collectors apply to jump wings (cast vs die struck), you start seeing the other signs of a bad wing. The shrouds are poorly defined, the edge of the canopy is "lumpy".. etc. When compared to a good Brit-made wing, you can almost immedietly see the difference.

 

Top wing is a "good" one, middle wing is a JR Gaunt fake, bottom wing is the one in the auction.

 

Finally, the "attributes" of the wing, such as the invasion arrow. It is always hard to tell when something was added, but ... this one just doesn't resonate with me.

 

I suspect that when something new comes along, there is always some level of interest, but taking a dispassionate look at this wing, I fail to see ANYTHING that makes me think this is nothing more than another cynical attempt to trick collectors into buying a bad fake wing.

 

 

 

[pfrost]

IF one were to search ebay for Robert Spencer, you will find a number of massonic/jewerly type items. I did find a SPENCER London piece that was dated 1954, so they were in fact around at late as that, I would assume.

 

Here is another example of their hallmarking.

 

I guess it is possible, but....

[pfrost]

Opps, sorry parts of my post above was incorrect where I said 'Here is the Spencer of London's hallmark (like posted above, but with a larger view) showing the RS (for Richard Spencer). This item probably dates from the 1900." was wrong, I had another image to show and posted the wrong one.

[David B]

I saw this jump wing on eBay but I passed on it because of the soft looking hallmark. I collect Masonic pieces too and Spencer hallmarks are always very well defined. Here's a Masonic jewel of mine, notice the crisp stamp..

 

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