British Air Force Insignia

Restrikes, Reproductions, Copies and Fakes.

There is an argument that there is a place for reproduction insignia to exist along side contemporary original material. Certainly the film industry of today could not feasibly be expected to come out into collectors market and equip their wardrobe department with original uniforms and insignia of Royal Flying Corps when producing a new film, where the script revolves around WWI aviation. The problem that this creates of course is that the reproduction, re-striking and copying of original insignia can not in its self be deemed to be illegal, subject to patent, hallmarking and copyright compliance of course. The real concern is however, when these are offered under the pretence that they are original or the subject of authenticity is avoided all together.

There exists now a definite migrating of reproduction and restrikes into the collectors market, a situation that has existed for many years, but one that seems to be gathering a great deal of momentum more recently. With many examples being prematurely aged by unscrupulous manufactures and dealers, using a vast range of techniques with a view to deceiving the unwary buyer. With examples now appearing in recent publications devoted to the subject of aviation militaria.

Below are just a few of the examples of reproduction, copies and restrikes that are doing the rounds at current militaria fairs and being auctioned over the Internet. In most cases, but not all, the seller has identified them as being copies. Buying items such as these from militaria fairs normally means you have the opportunity to ask the seller the direct question, is it original and contemporary to the period concerned, additionally the seller normally indicates the price. However, when it comes to buying over the Internet at auction, many sellers choose not to provide much in the way of authenticity statements, leaving the buyer to make up their mind as to its originality and value of course.