Replica Plaques

[Rycroft]

Does anyone know of a company for replica plaques. I have my uncles letter from the King etc and the reply card for the issue of his medals. All I need now is a replica set.

Rycroft

[Coldstreamer]

lots of blank ones can be found on ebay but I dont agree with people making replic ww1 medals and plaques as they could tempt to fraud

if he is called John Smith you have a good chance of finding one!

[CROONAERT]

I actually do know of such a company, Rycroft (and they do named plaques, not blanks). Contact me off forum for details.

Dave.

[Rycroft]

I dont agree with people making replic ww1 medals and plaques as they could tempt to fraud

Ok what am I supposed to do ?? I can't chop the one up we have into three bits. Whilst you sit at home looking at yours !!!!!. I have two cousins who are holding the trio and the plaque for our Uncle, and they are not going to share. So without breaking into the house and stealing them what am I supposed to do ???

I have now given you my opinion, I respect yours but feel in my case I have no other options, I suppose I could buy Fred Smith's but I prefer a copy thanks

Ryecroft

[CROONAERT]

So long as a copy is obvious when held in the hand, I can see no problem. No fraud can surely be committed there? Even if, from the front, it's visually perfect, so long as there's something to give the game away, then there's no deception.

Dave.

[welshdoc]

A copy or fake is just that it has nothing whatsoever to do with the person who won the item. I do not have my relatives medals and see no point in putting copies with his photo. My opinion. AS for selling copies /fakes i think there is a valid point here as around 30 known fakes have been sold on an internet auction over the last few months, the majority were not described as copies and look real with no indication they are copies unless you hit one with a hammer. That is the trouble with online auctions you can only see a photo not feel the item. There are more and more of these copies being produced which will in time cause a problem both for collectors and family historians.

[Guest KevinEndon]

Replica plaques as a gap filler are fine, even better if the name is raised rather than engraved. It would be very difficult at todays prices to make a raised named plaque out of bronze or brass and to make a profit.

As soon as someone makes the almost perfect plaque out of resin then I feel they will be onto a winner.

Kevin

[Coldstreamer]

I dont agree with people making replic ww1 medals and plaques as they could tempt to fraud

Ok what am I supposed to do ?? I can't chop the one up we have into three bits. Whilst you sit at home looking at yours !!!!!. I have two cousins who are holding the trio and the plaque for our Uncle, and they are not going to share. So without breaking into the house and stealing them what am I supposed to do ???

I have now given you my opinion, I respect yours but feel in my case I have no other options, I suppose I could buy Fred Smith's but I prefer a copy thanks

Ryecroft

"Whilst you sit at home looking at yours!!!!" - not sure how to take that but it comes across rather unpleasantly and as such isnt appreciate. I gave you a perfectly good place to look for the replicas and you couldnt be bothered to either acknowledge or thank me

Still I have thick skin and that wont put me of providing options - buy a group of three miniature medals and one of these "modern" miniature plaques. In a frame they would give a nice representation of the medals he won and the plaque that was given to the family

Be grateful you know the medals and plaque still exist.

And as croonaert says if medals etc are marked duplicate then I have no problem - sadly many are not

[Rycroft]

A copy or fake is just that it has nothing whatsoever to do with the person who won the item.

Yes it has

It is a physical rememberance of someone who earned it. If you have no other way to show this, a copy has to be the only meaningful way of doing so. For historians of the future it has to be an excellent way of tracing someone. For collectors I don't really care if you can't tell a fake you should not be collecting. If you can't hold it in your hand you should not be buying.

Just an opinion

Ryecroft

[Rycroft]

Coldstreamer

I gave you a perfectly good place to look for the replicas and you couldnt be bothered to either acknowledge or thank me

I acknowledge your comments thank you. The reply was not meant as personal to yourself

Ryecroft

[Max]

Yes it has

You may think so, but in reality a modern copy has no connection whatsoever to your uncle. If you are happy looking at a replica of what your cousins have got and this helps you "remember" your uncle then thats fine, its just not for everyone.....to me a photo is much more evocative.

Andy

[welshdoc]

Rycroft , Copies have no value historicaly or research wise. If you want a rememberance it is easy to download the relevant CWGC remembrance page. I just cannot see the point of copies I dont have a problem with people who do. As for fakes its a problem and many less experienced people have been caught out. This is a particular problem for those like yourself you would like a remembrance of a family member and spot such an item on E*** a perfect example are Ernest Edward Smith plaques which have sold to the unaware for £40+. The collectors know all about them. You may or may not be aware that there has been considerable discussion here and on other forums about erasure of medals to fill a market niche of gap fillers and lost family medals even erasure of plaques and reengraving. I thus agree with you that copies are far better to fill such a need for display.

[CROONAERT]

Just for anyone who might be interested, here're a few shots of the prototype plaque. The photos really do not do this justice as I struggled to get a true representation of the colouring on the pics - it's absolutely spot on in real life. The lettering is being worked upon and improved as we speak.

Dave.

[Guest KevinEndon]

Is it you Croonaert or someone else who is making these, they are brilliant quality. Do you or whoever makes them do any name or is it just Fred Latham.

If its any name can you pm me where I can get my great uncle's plaques made up, Gavin Sim and David Sim.

I have their medals but no plaques, these would be a perfect gap filler if any name can be made.

Kevin

[CROONAERT]

...and , before the plaque puritans get involved... here's a shot of the side to prove that these are being made for display purposes only and cannot possibly be confused for the real thing. They are cast with a thicker strengtening disc (unremovable without destroying the disc) at the rear which also aids in framing. Apart from that, they (purposely) weigh a mere fraction of the originals. From the front though (especially if framed), the only thing that might give them away is the slightly different font of the lettering...

[CROONAERT]

They can be made to any name, Kevin, (within reason!). However, as they are "substitute memorials" in a way, I don't think the company that makes or distributes them would be too happy about doing any "joke" names or names of non-casualties, etc.

Fred Latham was chosen as his was a pretty simple name to start with and see how the process worked. Any name up to 4 names long is possible without too many problems I think.

Dave. (and, no, it's not me making them BTW. If it was, they'd probably look like chocolate digestives!!! )

[Coldstreamer]

its a sad fact that if you buy a medal to the ASC and remove all the details (losing the history) it is then worth more money

[CROONAERT]

its a sad fact that if you buy a medal to the ASC and remove all the details (losing the history) it is then worth more money

Unless it's named to R.G.Masters or A.C.Herring!

The thing here, though, is that no original plaques have been damaged, destroyed or altered in any way, nor do they need to be. Yes, these copies have been cast off an original, but the name has been removed from the actual mould, not the plaque. Better to get a visually decent copy than buy an original and alter it to personal taste I think.

Dave

[Garron]

That looks great dave, totally agree.

'No Orginal Plaques were harmed in the making of these replicas'

Gaz

BTW Nice Collection.

[Guest Pte.Evans]

think these replacement plaques are first class cant see any problems as long as it is obvious that they are not originals and can not be passed on as the real thing

congrats to who ever is making them a nice job,

Evans

[Derek Robertson]

...and , before the plaque puritans get involved...

The pictures of the plaques pictured here don't pretend to be duplicates of the real thing.

I can't comment on their actual weight but considering that there seems to be a "strengthening plate" welded onto the back of the "plaque" and that the naming style is all wrong compared with the original death plaques, as a plaque puritan, I don't have any problem with these "replicas".

I would rather see these being used to complete a group as to have some a**e butcher erase a genuine and original death plaque to make up a group. The sooner we can put an end to these people the better.

So well done to the people behind this new plaque initiative. you seem to have spotted a gap in the market.

[CROONAERT]

I can't comment on their actual weight but considering that there seems to be a "strengthening plate" welded onto the back of the "plaque" and that the naming style is all wrong compared with the original death plaques, as a plaque puritan, I don't have any problem with these "replicas".

The "strengthening plate" is actually part of the cast and cannot ,therefore,be removed without a great risk of damaging the face of the plaque (it also serves the purpose of making mounting these plaques far easier - after all, they are only really intended for viewing/mounting rather than handling anyway). The weight, as mentioned, is a mere fraction of that of an original plaque, even with the extra thickness considered. They could easily have been made to the exact weight of an original (and also could have been made without the strengthener/mounter), but it was purposely decided not to. The naming is, however, being improved upon (the images previously shown are just prototypes), but nothing else is being changed.

The prototype has been shown around a number of people/groups from dealers, through collectors and geneologists to people with just a passing interest. Because of the open "honesty" of these plaques, they seem to have been met with absolute positivity from all who have seen them.

Dave.

[Desmond7]

To state the obvious - anyone with a KIA ancestor would LOVE to have the original. Equally obvious to state that this is rarely possible. If someone has (for example) an old newspaper cutting about an ancestor, maybe a cap badge or the proverbial tattered and torn photo then I reckon this would look well in some form of frame or box.

I think Derek Robertson hits nail on head when he says that they are much better than having an original plaque defaced.

Given the huge re-awakening of interest in family history and with so much of that tied to the GW period, I would imagine these would go down quite well. They certainly look good.

I fully appreciate the ethical issues but in all honesty I don't think they have been breached here at all.

Dave Croonaert has a proven record as a man who goes extra mile to provide info to forum members and if he (as a recognised collector) is on board then I'd have to say all will be made clear to any who purchase.

That's why I love being a pure information man ... life is so much easier!

[Matt Dixon]

I think they look fantastic and would be excellent for acting as a filler.

[Guest tafski]

Seems so much has gone on since my last visit just saw this thread and am impressed with what i see so much so i think i will order a plaque for my great uncle as i know i will never be able to obtain the original.

Tafski