I recently took a chance on two items both with identical engraving on them saying
Flt Lt Currant 605 Sqd Croydon 1940
Was very excited about adding these to my personal collection but obviously wanted to verify both items I did a bit of digging. I showed both items to three individual experts.
The case dates from the 1920s or 1930s and the watch from the early 40s so far so good. They then looked at the engraving, which was not done on a modern machine all three people agreed that this was done on an early engraving machine or hand engraved. You can tell this by looking at them through an eye glass, modern engraving is very precise and very crisp old style engraving when you look closely is slightly shaky and has slight inconsistencies.
All was looking good I was starting to get quite exited, finally having met Bunny once I knew he lived locally and having looked through the phone book made contact with his widow.
She kindly agreed to see me and have just spent a very pleasant two hours talking to her.
She looked at the items and was puzzled firstly because Bunny always wore a wrist watch and secondly although a smoker he always smoked a pipe.
theses would have been quite personal items and having met him in 1941 if he had owned the pair I am quite sure she would have remembered them. She had never seen them before and therefore I can only assume that these are clever fakes.
I did not pay a huge amount for them and this encouraged me my thinking being that would someone go to so much trouble just to make a £150 , well its seems they will.
By: Graham Adlam - 24th November 2011 at 21:56
Likewise, I’m happy you’re taking it with a sense of humour.
As I say..”When like hands you lemons, make orange marmalade.”
I am not to upset about the watch etc as its not a huge loss and I knew I was taking a risk, my sentiments over the German Grip are more accurately summed by this video clip. :dev2:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rJCa6Bp6vOos
By: bravoalpha - 24th November 2011 at 21:55
Fake
I have a full colour photgraph of a 617 Squadron Tornado signed by Wing Commander Guy Gibson. Could it be a fake??? 😀
By: Snapper - 24th November 2011 at 20:57
Now now Andy, you know theyr are all dear to me 😉
By: Peter - 24th November 2011 at 20:55
That original box art of the spitfire made me laugh I almsot spit my mince pie over my monitor.. good one Sir! Graham ,hope you havent had too much probkem with the spit project..??
By: Blue_2 - 24th November 2011 at 20:48
Nor the photo of it being presented in the bar of the Stork Hotel…!
By: Arabella-Cox - 24th November 2011 at 20:05
I have a silver hip flask and cigarette case kicking around somewhere. I never used the case though i smoke and I only do spirits out of a glass. My wife has never seen these items. There’s a lot she wouldn’t recognise in fact.
Yes, but you didn’t mention the bit about the engraving on your hip flask: “From Dolfo to Dogsbody – St Omer 9 August 1941”
By: J Boyle - 24th November 2011 at 20:01
🙂
At least I hope we have made you smile (just a little) in the face of your misfortune!
Likewise, I’m happy you’re taking it with a sense of humour.
As I say..”When like hands you lemons, make orange marmalade.”
By: Snapper - 24th November 2011 at 19:59
I have a silver hip flask and cigarette case kicking around somewhere. I never used the case though i smoke and I only do spirits out of a glass. My wife has never seen these items. There’s a lot she wouldn’t recognise in fact.
By: avion ancien - 24th November 2011 at 19:54
I wish you luck and hope that, if you obtain judgment against the defendant, he has the means to meet it. Litigation isn’t cheap and finding that your judgment is unenforceable, due to the defendant’s lack of means, is like rubbing salt into a wound!
By: Graham Adlam - 24th November 2011 at 19:46
I already have several statements explaining why it is fake, I am now working on finding the owners of the other fake grips all supplied and constructed by the same seller.
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November 24, 2011 at 12:37 pm