TheSamba.com :: View topic - Anyone have any info on these pins/ badges?

Sat Sep 19, 2009 9:19 pm

Picked these up at a local auction...
the deceased seller was a WW2 vet and had quite a few German items
uniforms, guns, medals, ect...

wanted to share a pic of the ones that caught my attention... ENJOY.

First one reads:

GRUNDSTEINLEGUNG DES VOLKSWAGENWERKES MAI 1938

translates: GRUNDSTEINLEGUNG OF THE VOLKSWAGENWERK'S MAY 1938

Second one:

STADT DES KdF-WAGENS FALLERSLEBEN

Translates: CITY of the KdF WAGENS FALLERSLEBEN

if anyone knows any history behind them, please share.

thanks!

Sat Sep 19, 2009 10:01 pm

IMO...those were the most remade pins in the world.....but?????

Sat Sep 19, 2009 10:21 pm

they are remade then?

Sat Sep 19, 2009 10:32 pm

More than likely, but????

They just look too new...you know what I mean?

Sun Sep 20, 2009 4:13 am

added photo of the back in 1st post

Sun Sep 20, 2009 4:16 am

werksberg wrote: More than likely, but????

They just look too new...you know what I mean?

Yea, but all the WW2 items were sweet, I tried to find more pics of the auction but they took down the photos already.

he had some really neat SS items and all were sealed and well taken care of.

There has to be some way of identifying if they are real or not...

Sun Sep 20, 2009 6:32 am

Try a collector show.....but they were remade by many people is all I'm stating.

He may have found them at some swap meet / show and bought them as he might have been there in those days. But that does not make them real ones.

Good luck and I hope you didn't pay too much for them! I can be wrong.....

Nothing is wrong with remakes, as long as they are stated as remade and not pawn off as real Genuine ones.

I'm sure the pros on here will chime in or you can try a search for "pins", Gog wheel pins, etc.... :wink:

Sun Sep 20, 2009 9:23 am

The first one, GRUNDSTEINLEGUNG DES VOLKSWAGENWERKES MAI 1938 is a reproduction. The second one, STADT DES KdF-WAGENS FALLERSLEBEN is just a new pin being made, there was never an original to reproduce. You can find them both from time to time on Ebay for under $20. Hope you didn't pay too much.

Sun Sep 20, 2009 9:26 am

Someone in the classifieds selling a bunch of the second one for $5.00 each. http://www.thesamba.com/vw/classifieds/detail.php?id=735520

Sun Sep 20, 2009 9:31 am

I got them for $17 for both.

Fri Nov 27, 2009 12:38 pm

Robs '52s wrote: The second one, STADT DES KdF-WAGENS FALLERSLEBEN is just a new pin being made, there was never an original to reproduce.

So someone just made this pin up? Where did you get that info? Just curious.

Fri Nov 27, 2009 1:11 pm

ricekooker wrote: Robs '52s wrote: The second one, STADT DES KdF-WAGENS FALLERSLEBEN is just a new pin being made, there was never an original to reproduce.

So someone just made this pin up? Where did you get that info? Just curious.

Search the forums, there are some very detailed threads on these. And, yes, they are all (99.99999%) fakes.

Fri Nov 27, 2009 9:40 pm

The two pins shown are 100% fake but $17 for both is a fair price for these repros.

The small badges had a KdF Wagen in the center, a Swastika inside a cogwheel on the top background and the lettering of GRUNDSTEINLEGUNG des VOLKSWAGENWERKES MAI 1938 in a banner on the bottom. These badges were made of a very lightweight Bakelite material with a thin layer of silver paint on the surface. The paint easily wore off on the edges or high surface areas of the badge over the years of handling. There was a clasp pin pressed into the back of the Bakelite badge to secure it to a coat or jacket. There is no lettering or insignias on the back of the badge and the manufacturer is not known. Since the badge was a giveaway, little cost was involved in making them and you could actually call them a cheap trinket. These badges are seventy years old now and have become a collector’s item with not too many surviving over the years and can be pricey at over $200 a pop, depending on the condition.

Since these Cornerstone Ceremony badges have become collector’s items, of course, several styles of reproduction (repro) badges have been made over the years. Unfortunately, many of these repro badges have been bought under the pretense that they were original badges. So how do you tell the difference between an original and a $20 repro badge? This article shows photos of the original and the several repro badges. Also, if you place an original badge in the palm of your hand and close your eyes, they are so lightweight that you cannot feel the weight of them. If you place a repro badge in your hand, it will feel like two or three quarters because all of the repro badges are made out of a metal alloy. Furthermore, if you take a voltmeter and measure continuity, the repro badge will show continuity because it is made out of a metal alloy and the original will not because Bakelite is non conductive. There is one repro badge that is a very close match to the original but the pin clasp is modern and the badge is made from a metal alloy.

I wrote an article about the Cornerstone Ceremony Badge in the July, 2009, issue of Hot VWs magazine. If you would like a copy of the article, PM me your e-mail address and I'll e-mail you the article.

Mon Dec 07, 2009 5:15 pm

I have one of the May 1938 cornerstone pins. I bought it from Germany around 2000 or 2001 shortly after I started using eBay. I thought it was an original as you didn't see these reproductions as commonly on eBay as you do today. I think I paid somewhere around $25-30 at the time but based on your information here, it's evidently not.

That's OK, as it's still a cool little piece that commemorates a historic occassion in the history of the Volkswagen (even if it is a reproduction).

Tue Dec 27, 2011 5:04 pm

I have one someone found in their family things that is very old and worn. Wonder when they started making them?

Tue Dec 27, 2011 9:43 pm

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=284216

Wed Dec 28, 2011 10:00 am

Yes, please use the thread above as we are trying to centralize all pin discussions now.