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WASP wings, your opinions.


Threewood
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Threewood

I saw these on fleabay and thought, wow. Those are hard to find. Then I read thread after thread on here about all the fakes of these.

 

Seeing as legit pieces go for over $1k, i'd assume that these are, in fact, fake. The pictures of the hallmark are just fuzzy enough to be annoying. The seller states that these are a possible fake and gives the length as 2-5/8". 

Opinions?

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There are some really nice threads about WASP wings.

 

Here is one.
 

 

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rathbonemuseum.com

Not uncommon. Many folks do not participate in the forum. Many folks get very excited for WASP material. Sometimes the new buyers excitedly bring their new purchases here after the fact and receive some tough news.

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Many people also think they're going to get a steal of a deal and don't want to advertise to competition, not understanding that seldom does something properly listed garner little attention on public auction, and almost never does something rare and properly listed sell for a song

 

These people are usually either bamboozled by trash or out-sniped in the final seconds

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Threewood

That's a shame. Internet resources such as this site are amazing when it comes to knowledgeable people. I wouldn't think of spending hundreds of dollars on an item with fuzzy pictures. It isn't worth it.

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BHillen

Yeah, fuzzy pictures are one of the dead giveaways to a bad wing. 
There are 17 years of posts about wings on this site. Makes for informative reading if you take the time. 
The contributors and moderators on this forum are golden.

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  • 1 month later...
Phroger46

Out of curiosity, since most of the fakes seem to end up on fleabay, is it getting harder to find a legit pair for sale?  Obviously with as many people that are looking for a pair of these for their collection, the competition is really tight and I'm sure that very few collectors are willing to let them go from their collection. So, I guess what are the thoughts on how to even find or get a legit pair of these or even less likely the class wings?

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The Rooster

The back of the fake wing.... And the front,

looks like its been cast instead of die stamped.

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pfrost

Sadly (or not, depending on if you are a collector or a seller), the prices of wings have been skyrocketing recently.  Some absurd prices are being sought (say 4-5 TIMES greater than normal) for rare and sought-after wings. I have seen wings that would have sold for 3-4K now being flogged for 17000$ on some sites. For years, 1500$ for a WASP wing would have been more or less normal, then it started creeping up to 4,000 and even 5,000$.  A recent grouping to a WASP went for 12,000$ on eBay. Sadly, one of our old forum members committed some  bad behavior (IMHO) and ended up "stealing" the group for 15,000$ from another member.  Noele, eventually got herself banned for that type of behavior.  Not a proud moment for her.

 

 

I would not be shocked if some of the higher end dealers try to tap into this trend and you may see some rare wings hit the market, but at (frankly) ludicrous prices.

 

The chances of finding a sleeper is probably rather small at this point.  There were only about 1100 WASPS in total, and I suspect there are not more than that number of wings that were made. People have been chasing down the WASPs, their friends and family members for years now and asking for access to their insignia.  So, there probably aren't more than a handful of these wings that are not accounted for in some collection or museum.  I think I may have been the last one to find a sleeper wing, and that one had been converted to a bracelet.  Never say never, of course, but I would say finding a WASP wing for sale at less than $5,000-10,000 (depending on the dealer) in this economy falls someplace between Slimville, and Noway Town.

 

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5thwingmarty

Patrick, are you lumping the Josten wings in with the earlier class wings in your $5000 minimum estimate?  If that is really the going rate I have one I would let go for that.

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pfrost

I have no crystal ball, but what i have been observing on eBay recently...  I think they sky's the limit. 

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