JG 53 Presentation Plaque

[RolandF]

Hallo John - my main concern is not the form 19-7-1940, which is a very uncommon way of writing a date but the combination of "Den" which under normal circumstances would require a location such as "Berlin, den 19. Juli 1940" or "Frankfurt, den 19.07.40" or whatsoever. "Den 19-7-1940" standing alone is definitely wrong , even not unofficial.
No German official would write the way it is done on the plaque.
John, which punctuation did you observe on the EKI in between the digits? 19 7 1940, 19-7-40 or 19/7/1940
Interesting fact is that the aces of spades emblem began to disappear from the airplanes shortly afterwards and was replaced by a red ring around the nose.

[Andy Saunders]

All interesting feedback. Thank you John Vasco, RolandF, ChrisMAg2 and Sidney etc.

I think this must be a fake, for many of the reasons specified.

However, a clever and elaborate attempt if it is fake.

It is very heavy, and seems to be silvered on brass. 21cm x 16cm.

On the reverse: J.GODET & SOHN

[John Vasco]

Originally Posted by RolandF

Hallo John - my main concern is not the form 19-7-1940, which is a very uncommon way of writing a date but the combination of "Den" which under normal circumstances would require a location such as "Berlin, den 19. Juli 1940" or "Frankfurt, den 19.07.40" or whatsoever. "Den 19-7-1940" standing alone is definitely wrong , even not unofficial.
No German official would write the way it is done on the plaque.
John, which punctuation did you observe on the EKI in between the digits? 19 7 1940, 19-7-40 or 19/7/1940
Interesting fact is that the aces of spades emblem began to disappear from the airplanes shortly afterwards and was replaced by a red ring around the nose.

Roland,

Exactly like this: 19 7 40

Nothing between the 19 and 7, and nothing between the 7 and 40.

I don't wish to impugn or denigrate members of JG 53, but it is possible that that plaque was done by groundcrew, and Officers, having seen the grammar on it, decided it should not be sent to HG. I say this bearing in mind that Andy may still be of the opinion that it is fake, given his vast knowledge in handling Luftwaffe artefacts.

[John Vasco]

Andy,

Don't know whether you have checked this:
http://www.wehrmacht-awards.com/foru...d.php?t=488912

Quite interesting. Godet & Sohn were a very old, well-established company involved in military awards, etc.. The thread runs to 20 pages (which I have not read!) so there must be a lot of info on them.

I hope the above link takes you a little further in your quest to determine the authenticity or otherwise of the item.

Edit: At the bottom of the first page in that link it says as of 2011: "The on-line Berlin phone book shows there is currently a "Gebruder Godet & Co." presently at Wieland Strasse 16, 10629 Berlin (Charlottenburg); phone number +49 (030) 3244223
They are listed as being in the wholesale trade of books, magazines, newspapers, music and other printed matter."

[John Vasco]

Andy,

I've scrolled through the 20 pages of the link I provided in my previous post. There's a hell of a lot of knowledge about Godet & Sohn there. I think it might be a good idea to post a photo of the JG 53 plaque in that thread, and also the back of it showing the Godet & Sohn mark. I would think that the knowledgeable ones on there would give you an answer in pretty short time if you do.

Hope this helps.

[Andy Saunders]

Thank you John

On the other hand, perhaps we have accidentally stumbled upon the real reason for HG's disaffection with JG 53! :-)

[John Vasco]

Originally Posted by Andy Saunders

Thank you John

On the other hand, perhaps we have accidentally stumbled upon the real reason for HG's disaffection with JG 53! :-)

He read the plaque, sent it back to the silly bastards, and banished the Ace of Spades emblem!


On a serious note, Andy, I would be interested to know if that site can help you with the plaque.