DEM Posted June 30, 2007 Share #1 Posted June 30, 2007 Well I just got my hands on this set of wings this past week from an 86 year old neighbor. The story is that they were left in the dry cleaning store in which he worked when he was 17 yrs old. He kept them and has had them all these years. HH hallmark with "DROID" MARK, pin back with tongue catch. 1930's style navy pilots wings with an applied sterling EGA over the navy shield. The wings have a nice "trenched" worn & been there curve to them as well.They are full size and have fine feathering detail in the wings. Hardly a trace of the gold plating left on the front. I've never seen another 1930's unathorized USMC pair of wings like these. Are others aware of similar pieces? From what I understand their were only a few hundred marine pilots in 1938 when these were left at the cleaners. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DEM Posted June 30, 2007 Author Share #2 Posted June 30, 2007 Well I just got my hands on this set of wings this past week from an 86 year old neighbor. The story is that they were left in the dry cleaning store in which he worked i when he was 17 yrs old. He kept them and has had them all these years. HH hallmark with "DROID" MARK, pin back with tongue catch. 1930's style navy pilots wings with an applied sterling EGA over the navy shield. The wings have a nice "trenched" worn & been there curve to them as well.They are full size. Hardly a trace of the gold plating left on the front. I've never seen another 1930's unathorized USMC pair of wings like these. Are others aware of similar pieces? From what I understand their were only a few hundred marine pilots in 1938 when these were left at the cleaners. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brig Posted June 30, 2007 Share #3 Posted June 30, 2007 this was a practice done by some US Marine pilots against regulations. I have seen a couple of other examples, I believe member Flying Tiger has one. I've also seen it done on jump wings. These pieces are few and far between. Your piece, while worn, is fantastic. I envy your stumbling upon these! If you're not a USMC collector, let me know . Again, very nice Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Hudson Posted June 30, 2007 Share #4 Posted June 30, 2007 That is the Hilborn-Hamburger "Star/Eagle" mark but I don't know what that 'DROID' is about - are you sure that's what it says? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teufelhunde.ret Posted June 30, 2007 Share #5 Posted June 30, 2007 That is the Hilborn-Hamburger "Star/Eagle" mark but I don't know what that 'DROID' is about - are you sure that's what it says? Have seen the "Droid" hallmark on H&H EGA's of the period. Anyone know what this means or stands for? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Salvage Sailor Posted June 17, 2010 Share #6 Posted June 17, 2010 Aloha, I believe that's OROID I have a HH marked 4 piece USAAC collar disk with the OROID mark. It's part of my Hawaiian Division collection and goes with an 18th Pursuit Group (Wheeler Field) DUI. They are both circa late 30's. I've been trying to find more definitive info on the OROID mark and what it means for some time with no success. What I have noticed is that it's usually stamped on Aviator related examples of the late 1930's. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teufelhunde.ret Posted June 17, 2010 Share #7 Posted June 17, 2010 Oroid, is a word which came into use in the early 1800's. It is a reference to the making and use of "artificial gold". The use of the word was largely gone by the turn of the century. My hunch is H&H (which came into existence 1926 or earlier as some suspect) hired a journeyman for insignia production who served his apprentice work while the term was in use. The H&H insignia I have viewed over the years which has this word - has been consistently of the highest quality and simply beautiful with the "artificial gold" appearance, as shown... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Belleauwood Posted June 25, 2010 Share #8 Posted June 25, 2010 Darrel, You are amazing - Best, Dennis Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teufelhunde.ret Posted June 25, 2010 Share #9 Posted June 25, 2010 Darrel, You are amazing - Best, Dennis :thumbsup: thx goes to goggle - if your willing to do "deep" detective searches, the info is typically there in bits & pieces Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Salvage Sailor Posted June 25, 2010 Share #10 Posted June 25, 2010 :thumbsup: thx goes to goggle - if your willing to do "deep" detective searches, the info is typically there in bits & pieces Yep, Thanks Darrel. With your "artificial gold" tip in post #7, last week I found the scant info that had eluded me in an 1888 text All About Gold, Gems & Pearls (also minerals generally) in Ceylon and Southern India Regards Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Salvage Sailor Posted October 11, 2013 Share #11 Posted October 11, 2013 for reference, an example of an OROID piece HH marked 4 piece USAAC collar disk with the OROID mark. It's part of my Hawaiian Division collection and goes with an 18th Pursuit Group (Wheeler Field) DUI. They are both circa late 30's. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WPAFB Posted October 11, 2013 Share #12 Posted October 11, 2013 Oroid Usual spelling is o·ro·ide An alloy of copper, zinc, and tin, used in imitation gold jewelry. Copper - approx. 81 %, tin - approx. 15 %, zinc - approx. 5 % Sorry for not being on line for a while was out of the US. Paul Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CliffP Posted October 12, 2013 Share #13 Posted October 12, 2013 This may be the wrong thread to ask this question, but can any one tell me why someone would have to operate incognito? Usual spelling is in·cog·ni·to Thanks in advance, Joe Btfspik Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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