Because the Golden Party Badge is much sought after by collectors, it is inevitable that it has been copied. Early copies were crude, but more attention to detail has made these forgeries more convincing as time goes by. Have a look at these recent fakes. Some are sold as replicas initially, but make it into the reseller market to trap the unwary.

Generally, genuine Golden Party Badges should have the look and feel of good quality jewelry. Fakes usually lack both the rounded oak leaves found on originals and the quality of preparation is very poor. Most fakes are cast, while the originals were die struck. Scratches under the plating indicate finishing from a power tool to remove the roughness caused by casting.

What follows on this page and the next is a gallery of fakes currently being offered for sale as originals.

This fake of a 30.5mm pin came out about Jan. 2001, and presented collectors for the first time with both a good front and a plausible back. The "O" is more round and the leaves are well done. The way to tell this is a fake from the front is the hyphen is too far over the edge of the "L" and the swastika does not touch the inner edge of the border around the wording. Otherwise, very convincing and dangerous to the new collector.	The back of this convincing fake 30.5mm badge has both "Ges. Gesch." and the Deschler mark on the pin-pate. There should be a "u" between "Deschler" and "Sohn". The "Ges. Gesch." is sometimes found stamped this way, but is usually not this close the the edge, and should be uniformly deep. The numbers are not in a straight line and are thinner, taller and closer together than originals.
This Golden Party Honor Badge has been sold as an original. The leaves have very noticeable ridges and veins and don't go all the way to the edge. The "O" is also not round as it should be for the 30.5mm version, and the hyphen between the "L" and the "S" does not overlap the "L". The back has the "AH" and date raised instead of impressed, and the form of the letters and numbers is wrong.
A fair copy of the 25 mm Fuess badge, except the leaves have noticeable ridges for the Deschler version, and don't have the "railroad ties" of the Fuess version (which this is supposed to be). The center is properly silvered.	The reverse of the badge to the left. Fuess badges were never marked this way. They have attempted to recreate the way the numbers follow the bottom edge, but made the mistake of having them completely vertical.
The front of this fake looks very good - the "O" is round and the leaves of the wreath are well formed. It was probably cast from an original. The back is too plain and the front is flat instead of domed.	This is an interesting badge, but not a fake. This was a dressmaker's sample for display in RZM shop windows.
	This is the back of a large Gold Party Badge with the maker "Souval" on the pin plate. Souval never had a contract for Gold Party Badges.

Until recently, almost all of the fakes of the Golden Party Badge have been fairly poorly done, as you can see in the fake gallery.

In 2002 a new and convincing generation of fakes appeared in England and the United States, as well in on-line auctions. They consist of a matched pair of Golden Party Badges - a large Deschler badge and a small Fuess badge. They bear the same number, often attributed to a senior member of the SS, and sometimes are sold in a fake red morocco leather case.  

These badges have fooled many collectors and experts, but in spite of their excellent appearance, there are several flaws that distinguish them from genuine badges. 

Fortunately, these new and convincing fakes have several subtle flaws. Examine the photos below to see how they vary from genuine badges.

1. Large Deschler Badge 

The large Deschler badge has at least four distinguishing features from a genuine badge - two on the front and two on the reverse. The fake badge is the same dimensions as a real one, and the lettering and finish is very close as well. 

The first difference is the enamel. On genuine badges it is translucent like red glass. These fakes have red enamel that is more opaque, although the next generation of these badges now circulating have corrected this. There is a correct number of oak leaves, and the only difference is the fake has a more pronounced center ridge. It is more evident in an artificially aged piece like below than in a shiny one, like on the preceding page. Genuine Gold Party Badges do not corrode in the same way as artificially aged badges. Gold is very resistant to tarnish, and artificial aging of fakes often leaves them with exaggerated black or green patches.

The reverse of the fake large Deschler badge is also done to deceive. The pin-plate attachment is excellent and properly marked. The "GES. GESCH." mark is in convincing characters. Fortunately the reverse has at least one and sometimes two flaws. 

These new fakes do not use the proper number font common to Deschler badges. The pictured example shows numbers that are slightly too tall and narrow. Impressed member numbers on large Deschler badges are fatter and more rounded.  

A close-up shows another problem with the numbers. Impressed numbers on Deschler badges do not use a flat-topped "3" as shown, and the "4" should be open at the top and not closed. (NOTE: There is a genuine variation that uses what is known as "rotograving" to engrave numbers on large Deschler badges. These do typically use a flat-topped "3" and a closed "4". It is not found as often as impressed numbers on genuine badges, and can be identified as genuine by the existence of small swirls inside the engraved numbers from the engraving tool.)

Small Fuess Badge 

The large Deschler badge is usually accompanied by a small Fuess badge with the same number. This in itself would not be cause for concern, because many genuine sets consist of badges from more than one manufacturer - one Deschler, one Fuess. 

This new fake is by far the most convincing and first serious reproduction of the Fuess Golden Party Badge. It is a very complex badge, and so its successful copying has eluded the fakers - until now.

As shown in the photo to the right, the fake uses the right materials and measurements, has the correct "floating" swastika, and the wreath has the correct number of laurel leaves on a background of "ties" or "railway tracks".  

The lettering on the face of these new fakes is not correct. Fuess badges use a very distinctive, thin, almost "spidery" font, with variations in thickness in a single letter. The letter "I" is almost like a spike, and the legs of the "H" are very thin, almost ending in a point. As well, in originals the "O" in SOZIALISTICHE is almost rectangular, and the top of the "P" in "D.A.P." is almost square. The fake has not copied this style of lettering at all, and uses a very uniform font, likely copied from another excellent Fuess copy from the early 1980s.

Again the red enamel on the copy is not the same quality of originals. On genuine badges it is translucent like red glass. These fakes have red enamel that is more opaque making it difficult to see the stippling underneath. 

Most of these new fakes appear to have a flaw in the die that makes them easy to identify - if you know what to look for. Circled above you can see faint raised lines on top of the laurel leaves, as if the ties show through. This should never appear on genuine badges. It appears the next generation of these fakes has corrected this obvious flaw.

Examples of the distinctive font used on genuine Fuess badges. The letter "I" is almost like a spike, and the legs of the "H" are very thin, almost ending in a point. As well, in originals the "O" in SOZIALISTICHE is almost rectangular. The dash between the "L"and the "S" almost touches the tail of the "S".

The reverse of the new fake Fuess is extremely well done, with few indications for the casual collector. Unlike the large Deschler reproduction, the fake small Fuess uses a more convincing form of numbering - the "3" is rounded at the top and the numbers are generally wider and rounder. The numbers on the small fake Fuess badges however are stamped, showing a characteristic puckering around the edges of the numbers where the excess metal has been pushed to one side by the stamping process. "Impressed" numbers, as in the original badge, do not show this.

The pin plate is excellently done in the fake with only very subtle differences. First of all, the words are slightly too large when compared to originals. In the fake, the "C" in "MUNCHEN" is too tall and thin, whereas in originals it is more round. As well, in originals the entire logo is more often than not stamped slightly off-center - up and to the left - whereas the fake has the logo centered in the pin plate.