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Caveat Emptor A2

Micawber

Well-Known Member
Our local auction house has one or two militaria sales a year. My interest was piqued enough by one or two lots to attend the viewing, while there I took photos of the following described as a 1940's US A2 leather flying jacket with a reserve of £500 - £750 [$650 - $975ish].
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B-Man2

Well-Known Member
How ridiculous to go to all of the trouble to paint a jacket , then age the paint , the jacket and the name tag only to leave the original lining and label and to try and convince someone it’s a WWII original A2. That just doesn’t make sense.o_O
 

Micawber

Well-Known Member
If anyone buys based on the description and catalogue photos they are going to get their fingers burned.
 

Micawber

Well-Known Member
i prsume that both the name tag and patch are glued to the jacket......or so it seems.

Yes, no sign of stitching or name on the tag and virtually no image on the patch. Terribly amateur machine stitching of the beige lining in black thread. defaced Cooper label, like the patch and tag the outer shell is strangely aged.
 

Micawber

Well-Known Member
The hammer fell at £900 [UK pounds] and that will be plus 21.6% commission inc VAT on the lot. Someone thought enough of it to pay that .....but not me!

Catalogue description said:

A 1940's US A2 leather flying jacket with knitted cuffs and waistband, zip fronted with flap over pockets, label a/f but text visible ''.....supplier to the US Air Force'', the reverse painted ''Loco Group 77'' with maiden design and Swastika design emblems. The 77th Division of the 20th Fighter Group was responsible for train bombings. With related volume.

:rolleyes:
 
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MeachamLake

Well-Known Member
Crikey. Is the auction house being deliberately deceptive here? On the other hand, maybe they don't have a clue what they're selling - but you'd hope they'd do their research.
 

Bombing IP

Well-Known Member
SOME UNEDUCATED FOOL AND HIS MONEY BEING PARTED . His only provenance is that the auction house says what it is and he believed it . Other patrons at the auction house also bid it up and believed it was an original to get to this sold price . In my opinion its not worth the buyers premium , eBay value maybe $80 .00 , my father used to say there is a seat for every arse !.

BIP
 

Micawber

Well-Known Member
No not deceptive. The auction house has a long history, having been established way back in 1850's to cater to the needs of farming and business community. They now have separate weekly sales of antiques, general goods etc and quarterly specialist auctions including property, military, bygones, antiques, art, modern design etc etc. I have done much business there but as with all auctions it is a case of buyer beware, you must know your subject!
 

Spitfireace

Well-Known Member
No not deceptive. The auction house has a long history, having been established way back in 1850's to cater to the needs of farming and business community. They now have separate weekly sales of antiques, general goods etc and quarterly specialist auctions including property, military, bygones, antiques, art, modern design etc etc. I have done much business there but as with all auctions it is a case of buyer beware, you must know your subject!
As the saying goes "a fool and his money are soon parted"
 

johnwayne

Well-Known Member
Amazing isn't it how the maker label has been badly ruined in an attempt to disguise it and the seller clearly doesn't know A2's enough to realise but I genuinely feel for the mug who's paid £900 for it! Steve, didn't you feel like raising the alarm bells with auction house?
 

Micawber

Well-Known Member
Like all I have dealt with this auctioneer cover themselves with a number of standard disclaimers. To my mind a potential buyer is responsible for their own purchases. If they purchase online without prior physical examination and the item turns out not to be as described then it is up to them to pursue the matter with the auctioneer who may well decide to declare the sale null and void and return the purchase price and premiums. Been there done that.
I am known there and have long standing buyer and seller accounts. I was there today with a mind to bid on an unrelated item and had satisfied myself as to the accuracy of it's condition and description beforehand. Anyone bidding on that A2 should have done likewise.
 

B-Man2

Well-Known Member
Just thinking outside the box here but what’s the possibility that this jacket might have been done up like this to use in a movie or historical documentary for a background extra. It might explain the swirling painted patch on the front, that while it looks like nothing up close could fool a cameras eye at a distance. The painted back of the jacket would certainly resemble a WWII A2 to a movie camera. Now the fact that some “poor shit for brains” got taken is the real issue hasn’t been lost on me, but this scenario certainly would explain the jacket and why the inside and lining was simply passed over in the counterfeiting process . I once had some movie extra clothing and a helmet from “Saving Private Ryan”. The clothing was a later M-65 field jacket that had buttons added and other additions to make it look like an M-43 jacket. The helmet was a Vietnam era steel pot but was tricked out to look like a WWII Ranger helmet with the orange diamond in the back with a 2 in the center.
This jacket may have been a movie prop .... your thoughts ??
 

Bombing IP

Well-Known Member
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If its a movie prop why go to the trouble of removing the lower white label and deface the orange label .This color lining is from the 50th aniversary edition only used one year 1995 , the black patch on the lining covers up the screen printing .It was doctored to deceive in my opinion and it worked ,nice pay day .

BIP
 
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