Fox Pilot Wings Question

[Daytonian777]

Hello everyone!

I have been offered this lot of Fox hallmarked wings, and had a question regarding the condition. As you can see in the picture, they have a heavy amount of blackish substance on these, and I was wondering what it could be? Is it tarnish? I don't know if Fox wings were made of sterling, but is this usual to find? Any help would be greatly appreciated! I know there are many knowledgable individuals here on USMF that collect wings 😎

[Daytonian777]

 

[rathbonemuseum.com]

Yes. Tarnish. Uneven. Though not marked they are likely sterling silver.

 

Tod

[pfrost]

During the general manufacturing process, the silver planchet was placed and then struck in the die, trimmed to remove the excess silver "flash", and then the hardware fittings were added.  At some point (and I am not 100% certain when this happened), the wings would have been chemically treated to oxidize the silver a deep rich black color.  The wings were then buffed to polish out the high points, but leaving the dark patina in the recesses.  This gave the wing a very handsome finish and help highlight all the details.

 

After this, some manufactures would use an enamel or lacquer product to protect the finish.  Some manufactures went the extra mile and coated or plated the wing with a silvery "frosting" finish. And a few companies just went ahead and plated their wings with chromium or rhodium to give them a even more durable shine that didn't need to be polished.

 

Amcraft, for example, used an enamel finish on their wings. Over time, this tends to oxidize to a yellowish color, giving the wings a kind of mild jaundice look.

Amcraft also played with rhodium and/or chromium finish, as did the company that bought the Orber dies.

The first (or is it second... I always forget) Luxenberg pattern has a frosted silver plating that often bubbles up off the wings, frequently giving them a mottled look.

 

Many of the early WWII wing just used the silver oxide treatments and this tends to buff out over time as the airman polished the wings.

Mid-late WWII and beyond tended to have a black/blue-black lacquer finish that is very durable.  You see this in a lot of the "graduation wings".  Some of the iterations of the fake NS Meyer restrikes had this strong lacquer finish that people try to buff off with poor efficacy. 

 

Because the formation of patina is just (in reality) a chemical reaction between the molecules of silver, there are various "patina in a can" compounds that can be used give silver that aged look.  Still, can-based patinas usually have a dull brown/splotchy color, but a skilled faker can usually get around this limitation. Once, years ago, HeWhoShallNotBeNamed sent me an email claiming that with the proper chemicals, he could turn a wing into almost any color... which I believe.  Chemical patination is a process that is well understood and used in many art forms.

 

Also years ago (in semi jest) I once posted on a thread that I will smell and taste my wings if I think the wing has been chemical patina Shortly afterwards,  HeWhoShallNotBeNamed pointed out that it was dangerous advice (and again, I believe him) because the chemicals use to put patina on metals can be toxic. But, I find that spending big $$ on fake wings can also be bad for your health.

 

This is a long winded post to just agree with Tod's great insight.  BUT, understanding and being able to recognize the various ways that sterling silver ages and develops a patina is very important to avoid fakes. 

[donaldnol]

4 hours ago, Daytonian777 said:

 

these are very nice wings ; on the FOX wings i woulden touch it looks good, the other two the needle pins could use a little straightening

[Daytonian777]

Thank you all for your replies! I truly appreciate the collective expertise that forum members bring. @pfrost Thanks for the sound advice. No licking wings, got it! lol 😜