WW2 OSS Det 202 Chinese Commando Paratrooper Wings

[Tonomachi]

These wings are highly sought after by collectors and sell for a great deal of money which is why copies exist.  There are several variants but the most common one you encounter is serial numbered with Chinese characters impressed into a rectangular box (Photo 1 & 2).  There was a decent copy of this wing floating around but luckily for the collector it was also marked COPY (Photo 3 & 4).  However recently I came across one of these wings where the COPY hallmark has been left off (Photo 5 & 6) of the back of the wing.   The only reason to leave to leave the COPY hallmark off of this wing is I guess to try and fool an unsuspecting collector into thinking it is genuine.  This won't fool an advanced collector but if the metal surface is aged just right, a serial number added,  it might fool someone new to collecting and parting with their hard earned money.  Buyer beware.  

 

 

 

 

[triplecanopy]

Dennis,

You have far more experience with these Chinese Commando wings so I thought I would ask your opinion on this grouping.

They are attributed to Colonel Gilbert Stuart who was the commander of the Chinese Commando parachute unit 1942-1949 as

I am told.

Notice the clutch back metal wings. I don't know how this example compares with other known originals. Let me know your thoughts.

[Tonomachi]

I've been keeping tabs on what has surfaced in the way of these WW2 Chinese Commando Paratrooper Wings since the 1980s but I've never come across this metal one before.  When I compare it with known examples nothing fully matches.  This particular wing has overly thick shoulders and of course the hand chiseled writing on the reverse.  You can tell that someone with knowledge of written Chinese chiseled this by hand which leads me to believe that it has to be genuine.   I can't see a counterfeiter going to this much trouble to come up with a new variant of this wing so in my opinion it has got to be real.  There are two other variants that were clutch back as not all of them were pin back. 

 

Your bullion piece in the upper right I've not come across before so I'm not certain it is genuine.  It might be as these were private purchases done at different shops but it doesn't match any of the known examples that I have seen before.  The bullion wing in the lower right is the real McCoy as I have come across a number made this way.  The embroidered piece along the lower left I saw once (see photos) many years ago and it was thought at the time to be a British commonwealth type theater made wing but could just as well be a Chinese Commando Wing.

 

 

[VB21]

See last paragraph of this link:

 

http://www.insigne.org/OSS-commandos.htm

[triplecanopy]

Thank you both for your comments. All the best!

[Tonomachi]

One of these copies along with two other post war Taiwanese badges sold on eBay recently for $130.39.  I've got a feeling that the buyer missed the "COPY" hallmark as it is difficult to see in the photos provided by the seller.  If you isolate the specific wing and blow it up while enhancing it (see below) with more light then it is obvious that it is a copy.  

 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/155350677569?mkcid=1&mkrid=711-53200-19255-0&siteid=0&campid=5335821211&customid=&toolid=10001&nma=true&si=f7RqyQJ1CwSA9%2FmvY3ru8zjSjeE%3D&orig_cvip=true&nordt=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557

 

 

[Tonomachi]

I just saw this on eBay being sold as a reproduction out of Thailand (see link).  I saw a real one once and did not know it was being reproduced.  It is described as an OSS Chinese Paratrooper Wing but my understanding is that the original designation is Joint Chinese American Airborne Command jump status badge that was worn from the end of WW2 through 1949.  The original dies must be floating around because the front looks identical to the genuine badge except the exact color shade of the yellow and blue enameling aren't correct.   The back is different as the original has an impressed rectangle containing two lines of Chinese characters and a number below that so it looks like they were serial numbered.  The pin back is identical except for the attachment points.  I thought I would post this just in case someone buys it or another and decides to age it, add a serial number and try to pass it off as the real thing.

 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/266251225333?hash=item3dfdcf48f5:g:1aUAAOSwEL5kWczB&amdata=enc%3AAQAIAAAA4PmMtspyIk61BtRaBS7Yp%2Bp8LJ%2BV7WNsmQ%2B01w0wtUQfBEAobdJr2BgsPUR4jja2LdPzHDB93CqW8tpIiAOoHzIaj1cyhyWYvZwIPh2APDXkldQOS%2FMFi%2B4t0NX%2FfYAJ%2FG8LXBy6azlc5p4mHnSanNRUB4Vzzboe1LP0DDY0%2ByajIwPwaXlCqtMv8YW%2B8AJ7eWY9WpNX6mGh9M%2BGIYPmr9TCxeBEmIpp%2Fp4YVLrq9z8tX12cJbZyl2095CZQOo7SwMdzaws2ra8kNilqma%2FR5XgexI7B1TVmkjMTtVViBgPQ|tkp%3ABk9SR6ySpfGAYg