Parachute collar disk opinions please.

[Uniforms of the Day]

I found this at a very old Oregon estate today. The disk is on an "Authentic Insignia" card with inked number "35". And a "PX TACCOA 6.42  50 PCS" Notation on the back. I have photographed it as I found it, on the card, and disassembled. Appreciate any input on its authenticity.

[manayunkman]

I don’t know how these are supposed to be made so all I have are a couple observations.

 

It appears that the parachute comes from the qualification badge with its wings cut off, a picture of the sides might help.

 

Im not too crazy about the finish on the back of the parachute but it could be the photo.

[Uniforms of the Day]

Thanks. Here are the sides. The grayish finish on both sides is uniform and uninterrupted. I have looked at both sides with a loupe and see absolutely no sign of wings being removed, or the sides polished, etc.

[Uniforms of the Day]

I saw a thread in here, someplace, where a member was show-casing his absolutely good one. Mine looks pretty darn close to his.

[Uniforms of the Day]

These are the best pics I can get of the back of the chute.

[VietnamCollectors2823]

I found multiple posts online about it being an airborne collar disk. One claiming that it is theatre made and for enlisted personnel. I’m not sure its an important enough piece to be 100% sure on authenticity.

[Uniforms of the Day]

That's right. There is evidence that these were sometimes worn post war WWII - Korean War. But the problem is they have been reproduced with varying degrees of skill. So I am just hoping an expert can advise if mine is good, or a replica. The fact that the real ones were custom made makes it even more challenging, sometimes, to tell the good from the bad.

[danimal03]

I am not an expert on these.  But I would accept it as period. The cardboard would be hard to fake in this case here. I see genuine age here of 1940's paper-board material.   The parachute may be made from a jump wing but to me that is no issue. If it is a fake, it is very elaborate. But again, I would be okay buying this.

[Uniforms of the Day]

I gotta say, I feel the same way. And, probably more important, where I got it just does not seem consistent with the sort of place you would find a replica. This was a very old home in farm country in rural Oregon. The people were definitely not collectors of anything. They had the day-to-day basics of life, and that was it. I just felt really good about this being a family item and not something they acquired as a curiosity or collectible. 

[JohnK83882]

The patina on the disk with the mark of the emblem would be tricky to fake. If it's a fantasy piece, it's an old one. Could be a theater made piece. A prototype for a possible new insignia's a long shot but not impossible.

 

Found a similar one here. Search the word collar and you'll see it. https://www.ljmilitaria.com/armygroundforcespatches/airborne__jump_badges__sky_diving.htm

[JohnK83882]

Speaking of paratrooper stuff, I found this in an ebay auction of random stuff a couple years ago.

 

[Tonomachi]

 

 

 

If you go through these threads of information about these collar brass you will find that they were put together by a jeweler in Paris utilizing US made collar brass and US made paratrooper wings provided to them by a member of the 551st P.I.R.   So there weren't many produced and due to their rarity they have been copied.  So original examples are probably not going to be found on a US insignia card with information written on the back like PX suggesting it was available for sale stateside.  Without provenance it would be hard to authenticate one of these collar insignia.     

 

[Uniforms of the Day]

Just found this on Google, eBay listing - identical card.

[QED4]

If some one faked it they sure went all out with the PX  Taccoa marking. Taccoa Georgia is the camp where paratroopers trained in early WWII and newly minted paratroopers love nothing more than unique insignia. I can see these being made locally just look at all the odd insignia made for the 10th Mountain Div at Camp Hail. Assuming you paid an estate sale price and not full dealer price I would say there is a good chance it is real. 

[awm]

7 hours ago, Tonomachi said:

 

 

 

If you go through these threads of information about these collar brass you will find that they were put together by a jeweler in Paris utilizing US made collar brass and US made paratrooper wings provided to them by a member of the 551st P.I.R.   So there weren't many produced and due to their rarity they have been copied.  So original examples are probably not going to be found on a US insignia card with information written on the back like PX suggesting it was available for sale stateside.  Without provenance it would be hard to authenticate one of these collar insignia.     

 

This is my understanding of these too. They were made from actual paratrooper wings in Europe by 551st PIR members. I would highly doubt they were manufactured in the US on insignia card, I have seen no proof of it. It would be very hard to call these real deal wwii period based on that information.