Honor Clasps of the Wehrmacht and Waffen-SS

[Honor]

In the picture below, I darkened Gregory's clasp sides to the size of Stepdale's clasp. Now they look more alike.

[Honor]

Below is their details (left side wreath) comparison.

[Honor]

And the right-side comparison. As you can see, they are the same, even their microscopic details (veins in oak leafs - their lines, angles) match.

[Honor]

There are also a lot do die-flaws all over these clasps (on wreaths, swastika, etc) that match as well (see some of them in green circles in the picture below).

[Honor]

Finally, with help of an European collector, I just found out that the same one-piece-construction variant of the unknown maker (along with the Klein clasp) is pictured as original in Jörg Nimmergut's (the famous German author) major work the "Deutsche Orden und Ehrenzeichen bis 1945" (the 5-volume book published in 1997 in German only).

Below is a scan of the page# 2216 of the volume-4 of this book.

[Honor]

The example pictured in the book is exactly as Greg's clasp (see the piuture below).

And this was my last post, I am done with posting pictures.

So what would you say about my two-piece construction clasp - original or fake?

[Honor]

50+ pictures posted, findings, analisys and not a single opinion, guys, I am just like you, not a "Honor clap collector/expert", I simply made this research to find out about original variants of this clasp, and to make my mind I really need to hear your opinions too. None of us need to be a "Honor clap expert" here because together we have more than enough (a lot of) experience and common-sense to find the truth about these clasps.

[Honor]

While we were talking here, the same one-piece-construction variant clasp of the unknown maker has just been listed on EMedals.com as an original textbook example.

[Honor]

And another (thread from 2009) I found one more of its brothers - the two-piece construction clasp with the same very distinctive design and that's why I believe made by the same unknown maker. This is the same as my clasp, which is the second example now known to exist.

[Honor]

Back to the top for opinions. Btw the honor clasp on Emedals has been sold the next day.

P.S. Before starting this thread I thought that it is going to be an interesting topic to many collectors, I did expect that some collectors would like these clasps, and perhaps some of them won't but I never thought that there will be absolutely no response, not a single one. Seriously, I tried to present the collected information in the best possible manner with a lot of detailed pictures, slowly step-by-step explained why I think they are original, tried to fill out all the gaps and betweens, and what - only the silence in return. In my opinion the waf collectors community was always the best out there, authors, researchers, world-class collectors, thinking people, elite, not just followers. I cannot believe no one has own opinion about these/shown variations of the Honor clasp, after all it is not the rocket science, so much info presented in this thread that it should be pretty evident one way or another already.

[Macca47]

Honor Roll Clasps

Honor, Whilst I do not yet have the expertise to critique your excellent post, it is my intention to acquire a Clasp. Your post is of the greatest possible help in acquiring the knowledge required to know good from bad. I have read many threads on WAF and yours is as good as I have seen.
Regards
John

[Stepdale]

Honor,
Well, I certainly have a vested interest in your thread as my clasp played a great part in it! While I always felt that mine was original due to the fact that it came from a vet return, I certainly never took the time to further research it to prove its authenticity. I definitely owe you a debt of gratitude for your hard work and forensic skills.

I am not sure why you aren't receiving much of a response, though I think it is part of a general trend. With the lackluster economy and general decline in TR prices, people just don't seem to be spending as much time as they used to looking at these things. Additionally, the honor clasp has never seemed to hold as much collector interest as more common awards such as combat badges and EKs. Part of that is due to the cost, and part probably because it's not the "sexiest" of TR awards. Had I not found mine in a vet haul from a newspaper ad, I probably never would have gone out of my way to buy one.

Regardless, thank you very much for your work and excellent presentation.
Dale

[Norm F]

Hi Honor,

I'm a Kriegsmarine badge guy, but even so I've been following your thread with great interest and I agree with John's comment that "I have read many threads on WAF and yours is as good as I have seen".

Like you say, not rocket science, but precisely the sort of detailed observation, analysis and presentation that advances our understanding in this hobby.

I agree with Dale's comments about the lack of response, but I suspect far more are lurking in the background but simply feel they have nothing substantive to add other than "Way to go!" Certainly no one could find fault in your observations and presentation, and combined with Dale's story of vet provenance, the argument has been well-made for wartime origins for this clasp.

So all that needs to be added, is any other anecdotes and postings of the same type of clasp to hopefully add to the evidence, pro or against (so far only pro). But your thorough survey has already established that this is a rare item (on the internet anyway) so the lack of response may simply reflect the lack of experience with this particular clasp which should come as no surprise.

Now that this thread is here, you may well accrue responses slowly but surely over the next several years as more examples turn up, so you've laid the best of foundations.

Best regards,
---Norm

[adren]

Yes very nice thread and as Norm said, not much to add here!

Thanks for posting!

Best Regards,

Adren

[Dietrich Maerz]

This type of investigation and research is what makes this forum with its members the best on the face of the earth. My hat is off to member '"Honor"!

Dietrich