Okrasa Badge

[Darryldh]

So I picked this up the other day... I've been on the lookout for one for a while, but was fairly convinced that they were never actually a real vintage item. I even asked Joe Ruiz outright, and he didn't think they were ever offered by Oettinger.
Regardless, this one came along and it was different than the others. It may be a hand-made reproduction, and it might not be... all I can tell is it is not new.

Things that stand out immediately....

1) It's heavy. Presumably pot metal, likely with high lead content. It is 92.5g (3.26oz).
2) Details are very sharp... much sharper than some of the cast (not stamped) repops out there.
3) There are spelling differences compared to the vast number of badges I have seen.
4) It's obviously not painted red. And it appears to have been mounted with screws or rivets, rather than adhesive or the like.

In my investigation into its origin, I have found it resembles a badge I have seen in an Ascort TSV GT, a very rare Australian car that was a VW conversion kit AFAIK. (link to example) . The details in the badge look the same, except for the blue colour obviously.

So what do you think? Ever come across one of these? Anyone know the history of the generic badge in the first place? Are they real? Inquiring minds want to know.

Thanks!

[69isalive]

They were put in Volkswagens, among other cars. Here is a bit more about them
https://www.ahnendorp.com/VW-Kaefer-Typ-1-Motorent...anguage=de

[Darryldh]

Hi thanks! I have an genuine Okrasa TSV-1300 engine for my car, so I am aware of what Okrasa is... was interested more in the badge and its pedigree.

[John Moxon]

[Darryldh]

Thanks John, I had heard that there was a German fellow who was making items like this for sale at shows out there, but most of the evidence was anecdotal, and I hadn't heard if he copied an original or just made it from scratch.

[KOMBI NIKO]

Well I can say they were around back in 1957, my uncles beetle had one on the engine tin. Its was a 1300, they might not have been offered by okrasa but early days they were around.
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[Bugfan-MR]

IMHO - they are both fake.

A German engineer would take more care to ensure 100% correct spelling. 2 of the -i's- are wrong. And that makes this badge look so fake, I doubt it's genuine.

To add to that: the adress on the plate says "GURGholzhäuser Straße".
The real address was "BURGholzhäuser Straße".

To me this looks like too many spelling errors that would not slip by the genuine Oettinger team. An imposter, trying to sell vintage badges, and trying to get away with copyright infringment claims ...

[Glenn]

[Burman]

Yup..they are fake. The reason I´m so certain is because I made them:-)
The year was 1995 and I did the originals on a mission of Jonas Uhland.
I made these 3 actually (working as an illustrator/graphic designer).

They were all screen printed on aluminium at the time.
And DID have the correct adress:-)

It was just for fun but we realised that the OKRASA badge "got it´s own life" after a while. It got copyied in another sort of "printing technique" and the rest is history.
It was never our intention to screw peoples mind with these badges.-)

The only correct Okrasa badge I know of is the one below

[Bugfan-MR]

NOW THATS AN INTERESTING WAY FORWARD !

The world is soooo small these days, that we even got to the bottom of this!

Sure hope the owner of that car reads about this and gets rid of that fake plate...

[[email protected]]

Fake or not ..I don't see a problem with anyone who sports one of these plaques on their engines/ cars ....