Weird Bolts and Blackened Wappen?

[Jeff R]

I am looking to tap the vast knowledge of the community hive mind here - has anyone seen the reverse of an officer wappen blackened like this? It looks like soot/scorch marks, and is not from transfer of the lacquer. Also, the wappen bolts are unusually long (enough to poke through the silk headliner) and look modern (not like period hand-cut ones). The soldering is also blackened, which I do not take as a good sign. Thoughts?? And thanks!

 

[Rkinkade]

Based on my soldering experience, I believe the darkening is from the down stream heat when a propane torch is used. That’s what I use. The threads look like modern fine pitch (number of threads per mm or inch) although I have seen several different diameter and thread pitch variations used during that period. It was usually coarse pitch. There was no standardization in that time and tool makers made what they deemed was close to the specification requirements or used what tooling they had available. If you choose to clean the back side, cleaner alone will likely not remove all of the black. It may require polishing compound, which is difficult to get into all the crevices. What does the front side look like?

Ron

 

[Pontiac9999]

Is the wappen silver? It could be tarnished silver?

 

[Rkinkade]

Good point! I didn’t think about it possibly being silver. It can tarnish black or green, dependent on silver content.

 

[Jeff R]

Thanks Ron (and Pontiac) - that's exactly what I thought/was afraid it was. Not trying to be coy, but the helmet isn't mine so only sharing what I need to. I am not looking at cleaning so much as knowing whether it has been messed with, which I am pretty sure now it has. I am trying to make a decision about returning it. I think I will, especially after some other wise input from this excellent community.

The plate is gilt not silver, and the black is less like tarnish and more like scorch or soot marks. I'm guessing new posts were added for some reason, possibly to fit it to a different helmet, as the one it's on has enlarged holes. Thanks for your help!