Is this wing good? Post you advice requests here!

[JLSP]

Hace 3 horas, B-17Guy dijo:

 

Hello can you please help me with these wings they are original and what era are they from?thanks. 

[pfrost]

WWII/KW vintage. Nothing wrong with them.

[JLSP]

Hello,can you tell me what you think of these wings? Thanks. 

[pfrost]

They look ok. Just someone “repaired” them. Lol

[donaldnol]

On 12/26/2013 at 7:12 PM, colt38super said:

Hi I am looking at these two sets of wings and sense there are so many fake sets out there. I am looking for opinions on these two. I know they are not very valuable compared to pilots ETC: I don't know if they are faking them or not??

Thanks in advance for looking!

David R.

i have tons of these crewmember wings some desirable some not, but these two here you have looks great no fakes here.

[donaldnol]

On 12/26/2013 at 11:47 PM, Scarecrow said:

Picked up this pair of clutch back pilot wings. Not a wing person per se so thought I'd post to get more experienced wing collector opinions. Marked Sterling but no other hallmarks. Thoughts and comments appreciated. Thanks.

 

 

 

W.W.2 or post war pilot wings looks good

[pfrost]

both wings are fine, WWII/KW issue or graduation style wings.  The pilot wings are sometimes attributed to SMILO based on the feathering pattern.

[donaldnol]

On 2/8/2016 at 9:26 PM, Wedgehead30 said:

Curious as to what the consensus might be about these two.

 

i like those command wings

[pconrad02]

They also look okay

 

[donaldnol]

On 10/1/2014 at 3:19 PM, paul kennedy said:

Are these wings okay?

i have the same exact wing with the small dimple on reverse, i showed mine on here a week ago nobody knows the maker of them.

[donaldnol]

On 10/6/2020 at 1:16 PM, TheCrustyBosun said:

Legit Balfour?

i have on exactly like this

[kristoffer]

Hoping to get some help with these.

Never seen these before. Tried to search the Forum but did not find much. I found something on a google search but there was not a lot of information. 

 

Could anyone tell me the age of them and what they could be worth?

 

I really like the look on them. 

 

Kristoffer

 

[kristoffer]

I would really appreciate some help with these wings.

 

If anyone has any information please share it.

 

Thanks

 

Kristoffer

[bschwartz]

Kristoffer,

 

That's a common (or at least used to be common) Gemsco pattern wing from the WW2 era.  When I started collecting there was a seller on eBay who had a ton of these still on the original card and in the original cellophane wrapping.  They generally went for a fairly low price, less than $30 as I recall.  This one looks like it may be clutch back which I have not seen very often.  They are usually pin back.  Here's a link to one on my site as you usually see them.  They share a similar wing design with the cadet cap badge.  Here's a link to the cadet cap badge.  That was then used as the base of several other style wings where the wings themselves were struck as one piece and then a center device was applied for whatever rating they needed.  Here's a pilot wing that was made that way.  Here's an air crew wing made that way.

 

I've always like this pattern myself but I do believe it is a fairly common pattern, although not in clutch back.  I'm afraid I'm not very up on current prices but it would surprise me if these wings are now bringing a premium price.  

 

Thanks,

Bob

[kristoffer]

Bob,

 

Thanks for a great reply! Yes they do look the same just that this one has clutches. 

 

I was curious because I have never seen this box before. I don´t know how much that add. I also like the wing even if it is a common pattern. 

It´s in good condition. 

[B-17Guy]

As Bob, said it is not a rare wing, but it is very cool to see it in the box.

This is what has always sort of been known as a Second Pattern Gemsco Pilot Wing and is considered WWII.

I have a few in my collection, one is clutch back like this.

As always said, without a photo of the back of the wing, it is impossible to commit to the wing being good, but from what can be seen, it looks ok.

John

 

[pconrad02]

I would add that it looks good, but I have found that boxes, while cool  in my opinion, don't always add to value all that much. I used to like the boxed wings, but they are difficult to display!

[Daytonian777]

I have a couple of questions regarding these Vanguard Aircrew wings. Am I correct in dating this example to the early to mid 50's? Also, other examples of the Vanguard wings with the small block letters and 1V that I've seen have the hallmark on the left, whereas this one has it on the right. Is this reason for concern? Are these faked, or are they so common nobody goes through the trouble? Thanks in advance for any help in answering my questions! 😀

[bschwartz]

You're wings look 100% authentic to me.  I think you're in the right ballpark with timeframe based on the 1V code.  As for where the markings are, it's not a big deal that they are in a different place on this wing.  Manufacturers sometimes marked different wings in different locations.  I'm not aware of anyone faking this pattern wing but nothing surprises me anymore so I won't give it a blanket "it will never happen" but I don't see anything to worry about with yours.  The deep imprint on the back in the middle of the circle is interesting but nothing to be concerned about as far as authenticity.  

[5thwingmarty]

I can't imagine anyone ever casting more copies of this wing.  I have seven of these wings, all from the same die but all with different reverses including hallmarks from four different companies (Vanguard 1V, Silverman Brothers 2S, Charles Polk Co. and Gemsco).  The Vanguard and Silverman Brothers wings have the extra indent behind the eagle's shield.  All of them have the nailhead type pins, but only one of them has the shorter (1/4") pins.  I like to think that one wing might be an actual wartime produced Vanguard wing, but have no way of proving it.

[Pryo]

Based on what I have seen online and other examples I think this matches up pretty well but before I add it to my case I just wanted to ask some of you your opinion on these!

[bschwartz]

The Service pilot looks like a great one to me.  

[Pryo]

I have it pegged as SMILO but the weird font of the "sterling except fittings" felt off but it seems to be like that on other good examples as well

[bschwartz]

I've seen as many people talk themselves out of a good wing as I have talk themselves into a bad wing.  Overthinking it is usually a bad thing.  You have to remember that the majority of these things were mass produced and sometimes dies wore out or the strikes weren't perfect.  See Triplecanopy's post from today with the new, in package, Vanguard jump wing with an off center strike.  You usually don't see things like that slip through quality control but worn dies and less than perfect letters are not uncommon.  Consider how small the writing is on these things and it doesn't take much for stressed metal to not get a perfect imprint.  

[Daytonian777]

On 2/19/2021 at 7:47 AM, bschwartz said:

You're wings look 100% authentic to me.  I think you're in the right ballpark with timeframe based on the 1V code.  As for where the markings are, it's not a big deal that they are in a different place on this wing.  Manufacturers sometimes marked different wings in different locations.  I'm not aware of anyone faking this pattern wing but nothing surprises me anymore so I won't give it a blanket "it will never happen" but I don't see anything to worry about with yours.  The deep imprint on the back in the middle of the circle is interesting but nothing to be concerned about as far as authenticity.  

 

On 2/19/2021 at 1:19 PM, 5thwingmarty said:

I can't imagine anyone ever casting more copies of this wing.  I have seven of these wings, all from the same die but all with different reverses including hallmarks from four different companies (Vanguard 1V, Silverman Brothers 2S, Charles Polk Co. and Gemsco).  The Vanguard and Silverman Brothers wings have the extra indent behind the eagle's shield.  All of them have the nailhead type pins, but only one of them has the shorter (1/4") pins.  I like to think that one wing might be an actual wartime produced Vanguard wing, but have no way of proving it.

 

 

Thank you both for the informative answers! I truly appreciate the extensive knowledge found here on USMF! 😀