MikeK

100% genuine - very uncommon.

Not many pickups for me last year but I was happy to add these 3. 2 x UK made wings (the Bombardier is much less common than the Air Crew of the same pattern) and a relatively early US-made Observer. Happy New Year to all! Mike

Great looking little wing. I'd have no problems with a WW2 vintage dating. Please DON'T perform an idiot test and deface/devalue it, especially when there's no red flags and there's a pretty obvious stamp STATING the basemetal material! I could not even begin to estimate the number of items I've seen vandalised by idiots who can't tell gold from brass or silver from zinc - or worse, don't realise they are "testing" the finish rather than the basemetal. Regards Mike

Hi Joe, I don't recall the exact date, but I'm pretty sure Flight Nurse (and Flight Surgeon) wings changed from Gold to Silver during WW2. So I think your lady would have had a Silver wing. Regards Mike

There are good castings of the rescue boat badges. The reverses of these 2 look "soft" and the markings are weak. The pics aren't great but from what I can see imo these are both probably repros. Regards Mike

I don't have any problems with the 3 imaged above. All appear to be correctly silver plated with correct hardware and maker mark. Imo don't clean them as the reverse patina is quite characteristic of an aged original these days. Regards Mike

It looks like one of the small raised circular markings commonly found on Bastian Brothers items. Regards Mike

That was a real treat to see Russ. I didn't know Gaunt produced the Observer pattern wing in genuine silver as well. FYI, I think you'll find that the JRG&S stamping is generally only applied when the anchor/lion/year stamps are applied to one of their items - it's not necessarily older or newer than the raised JR Gaunt London type of marking, imo more of a "higher end" (quality-wise) marking. Regards Mike

Allan, You've misread my comments. The area you've circled is imo the very weak and partial Meyer maker mark I mentioned. The two raised areas I circled are what appear to me to be the remains of casting sprue, not a maker mark. Regards Mike

That is an unusual wing. The obverse looks good - nice and detailed, pelican beak pattern. The reverse may tell the story though. There appears to be the very weak remnants of a raised N S Meyer Inc New York makers mark. The sterling mark has been stamped in after production. The thing that gets me are the 2 features highlighted - they look like the remnants of sprue from casting. Combined with the weak maker mark and 180 degree opening pin, I think this is probably a really nice casting of a WW2/KW vintage Meyer wing. Regards Mike

I can only agree with the comments above - authentic but pricey. I'm not sure what Amcraft has to do with this thread as the example in question is A.E.Co (American Emblem Company). The reverse is typical for genuine AECo wings, with a cast appearance (same for the front - relatively weak detail). They may even have been die-cast rather than die-struck however, you'll probably find some nice shear marks on the edges indicating they were at least die trimmed. Hardware is correct for an AECo pinback. Regards Mike

From the hardware, markings and finish, I'm thinking it's a restrike. Regards Mike

I replied in the other thread before seeing this thread: For me this set of wings is a cast repro. The obverse detail is very weak, as is the maker mark. Further, they've used an Observer base wing, rather than a Pilot base wing, to attach the crude G shield to. This pattern of Gaunt observer base wing was not typically made from silver, let alone Sterling Silver, so the nice crisp Sterling stamp is another red flag. Regards Mike

For me this set of wings is a cast repro. The obverse detail is very weak, as is the maker mark. Further, they've used an Observer base wing, rather than a Pilot base wing, to attach the crude G shield to. This pattern of Gaunt observer base wing was not typically made from silver, let alone Sterling Silver, so the nice crisp Sterling stamp is another red flag. Regards Mike

Yes, AAF. I don't have my references but it's 1st "something". Originals were CBI made and are rare. Without seeing the reverse I'm thinking this may be a collectors copy. Regards Mike