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Very interesting Amico pilot wing - Plated brass with center maker mark


B-17Guy
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So, I thought I had all the Amico pilot wing variations, and then this came up on ebay.

It caught my eye because of the location of the early hallmark.

I bid, I won, the wing showed up at the front door (cool process).

 

What is more interesting, now that the wing is in hand, is that the wing appears to be plated brass. I have never seen an Amico wing that was not sterling.

We have all seen the early hallmark to one side, with the sterling mark on the other. This wing only has the early hallmark, no sterling mark, and the hallmark is behind the shield.

 

So now I am asking if anyone out there has seen an Amico wing like this, and also how early did Amico

get into making wings. Because this wing, I have to believe, pre-dates all the sterling one's I have seen.

 

Cheer's

John

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Nice clean hallmark on your new wing.

 

As for the date of the hallmark I have only word of mouth information and no actual company documents or ads to back this up but I always thought this was a later hallmark. Now as far as the base metal of the wing not being sterling might support this being a later hallmark. My "shoot from the hip" thought on this would be that this wing was made later using the same pattern used in WW2 and thus was produced at a period when sterling was not a requirement? (only a guess) Additionally IIRC this pattern was not seen until WW2... "if" this is a true statment then a counter position of this being a pre-war wing based on the base metal (if in fact it is actually brass) would not fly.

 

Maybe some of the elder statesmen here on the forum can clear my confusion up and set me on the path to wing enlightenment :)

 

Regards,

John

 

PS either way it is a sweet wing!

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Not a wing guy but, it is possible the metal coming through is copper or brass. In the plating process it is common to plate copper over another base material and then the final finish plating, silver gold etc... This is done because copper is a very good conductor and takes and gives adhesion to other medals very well. Frankly they sometimes plate copper over brass and then silver or gold over that because of the advantages of copper as a base for plating.

 

None the less a very cool set of wings.

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I think GEMSCO took over AMICO dies sometime after WWII and I've seen some similar finishes on those later wings, even when they are marked sterling. These wings can be found with both the GEMSCO and AMICO marks on them. This one is the first I've seen with the older AMICO mark. It's almost as if whoever took the dies rushed a few batches through without giving much thought to how the final product should look. Maybe they are from trial batches.

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  • 3 months later...

Hi John,

 

I finally had a bit of spare time to follow-up on this post. I think your wing has brought up a few points to discuss that are interesting. What jumps out on this post and some of the replies are the following:

 

1) Base material

2) Location of hallmark

3) Specfics of the hallmark

4) Gemsco\Amico connection

 

I really do not know when this wing was made but I wanted to comment on the above points and hopefully stimulate some more discussion.

 

I think there may be a relationship between what you pointed out as the base material and the hallmark. The key to me is the hallmark since it is clearly an AMICo mark (maybe someone can provide there thoughts on why this is an early mark?) which I speculate was the correct type to use on a non sterling badge. I say this because the mark is a variation of another AMICo mark (see photo 1) which incorporates the base material within the mark i.e. STERLING SILVER whereas yours omits that. This may also tie into the location of the mark not being in the "typical location" which maybe purposeful :think: Additionally I have seen a similar mark to yours on a WW2 Navy Wing - not as clear but it is without the words sterling silver.

 

As for dating maybe this wing was made before the requirements for sterling wings or since it was not a "contract" wing there was no need to make it sterling... or maybe dskjl is correct? Can you post some additional photos of the reverse and the fittings as this may yield some clues?

 

Now to Paul's point about the connection between Gemsco and AMICo is correct although I do not know when they started using this AMICo variation of the pelican beak pattern (different from Balfour in a few ways) As a reference see photo 2 a&b which I consider a post WW2 wing at this juncture.

 

 

 

PHOTO 1

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PHOTO 2 A & B

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Here are some pics of three of the eight Amico wings in my collection.

The original piece is at the top and is the only non-sterling Amico wing I personally have ever seen.

Middle is the same wing, same hallmark, but sterling. (I have this same wing with the hallmarks on opposite sides)

Bottom, is another early Amico hallmark, same as previous post by John and also is pictured in SWPaG.

I believe, the next in the lineage is the raised Amico hallmark under the shield. Then lastly the stamped, curved Amico sterling

hallmark. I have that hallmark on wings that are both pin back and clutch back.

 

Note the findings on the top wing are similar to the middle, except the come-under locking catch is heavier.

 

Lastly, as far as the Gemsco connection, Campbell shows Amico making wings from 1940-1946. The Gemsco wing pictured looks

post WWII to me, so I am thinking that Gemsco bought Amico sometime right after WWII.

 

Hope that helps. Also, John, if you like, I can post my other five wings at some point.

 

Cheers, John

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I think the reverse shot shows some interesting variations in the fittings and highlights the differences in the revers of the shield. I wounder when AMICo started to use this pattern? In looking at all of them together my gut says very early WW2 or maybe just before?

 

Anyone have an AMICo ad or catalog they can share?

 

Cheers

John

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So a quick update for the wings nuts here - although I do not know when AMICo starting using this pattern nor the specific makers mark at least we have a general idea of the time frame which is at least in the late 1942 range based on the following Air Crew wing and the known date when authorize.

 

post-227-1295584701.jpg

 

Cheers

John

 

PS I will get some better photos in the near future and update this post.

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Ok here are the better photos as promised. Something I negelected to mention in the difference in the pins... as you can see this AC has the same pin as the last pilot John posted.

 

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Nice Aircrew wing John.

 

Besides the pin, I notice that your Aircrew wing has the same serrations at the bottom of

the feathers, (just outside the shield), that my pilot wing has with the same hallmark.

All of my late war Amico wings with the curved hallmark (raised and stamped) have the same serrations.

I have never thought of Amico having two patterns, but it appears maybe they did?

 

Cheers, John

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Thought I would add this Amico Pilot wing.

Worn by Ray Callahan, B-17 pilot, 562d BS, 388th BG, 8th AF and POW.

 

Cheers, John

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I'm following this thread with great interest, though I am primarily a sub badge collector. I've seen at least 2 full size sub badges with the shield type AMICO hallmark, but for the most part, most commonly they only have varying text hallmarks. I was under the impression that the shield type- mark was earlier as well. I'd be thrilled to know if someone has any concrete information on when AMICO shut their doors for good, and how we might be able to use this to date insignia from this seller.

 

BTW, baystatemilitaria has one of these shield marked Amico wings for sale right now, complete with a fitted cloth backing. The hallmark isnt quite as strong as the examples here...

 

Josh

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  • 3 months later...

Just picked up another interesting Amico variation.

Amico hallmark is on the right, instead of the standard left.

I have seen this once before on a wing owned by a B-29 pilot.

 

Best, John

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John Cooper

Be careful John next thing you know you will be collecting all the know varaitions of every makers mark ;) I suggest you start with Balfour they have lots of nice variations! I posted many in the makers mark section.

 

Cheers

John

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  • 9 years later...

Old thread, but I picked this up in a grouping. Reverse of the  shield  is closer to the third wing in B-17Guy's post above,  as is the thinner pin,  but with the early hallmark.

 

 

amico1.jpg

amico2.jpg

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TheCrustyBosun
7 hours ago, juvatwad said:

Old thread, but I picked this up in a grouping. Reverse of the  shield  is closer to the third wing in B-17Guy's post above,  as is the thinner pin,  but with the early hallmark.

 

 

amico1.jpg

amico2.jpg

Nice wings! My favorite style. 

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  • 2 weeks later...

Russ, I am curious if you have any other Amico wings with the large raised letters?  I had a 3" Amico Flight Engineer with the large raised letters, and still have a 3" Aerial Gunner with the large raised letters.  Based on those, I would say they fall in the late to early post WWII timeframe.  I am also trying to remember what kind of wing I saw in an antique shop that I asked you about a couple years ago, maybe an instructor wing that had a similar hallmark?  I think that had even bigger letters but they were not on a curve.

 

Many of the 2" Amico wings have the raised letter mark as well, also indicating mid to late war used by the company.

 

Marty

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Thank you for your input Marty. I purchased that AMICO hallmarked Pilot wing on Ebay just before the Covid-madness began. It’s my only full-size example with that hallmark variation. 

 

I was under the impression AMICO was bought-out by GEMSCO at, or near, the conclusion of WWII... hence those old stock badges which occasionally surface with both company’s hallmark? 

 

Your suggestion of this larger raised AMICO hallmark being a late war production is certainly likely.

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  • 2 years later...

To add to this topic, here’s a brass plated senior pilot wing with the ‘early’ hallmark in the centre and the fatter pin hinge.

 

 

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