The majority of the sellers below have been notified by me that there is something wrong with the authenticity of their item or items. Sellers who are continually listing fakes are no longer notified by me but have the links to their listed fake items placed here.
The items listed below are not genuine but are fakes, copies or made-up to appear genuine. Caveat Emptor!
July 2011
1 Rhodesia Regiment Tracker Combat Unit patch
This fake patch was sold by hotminicooper on eBay. I messaged the seller and informed them that it was a fake. His reply was that it had come with the other Rhodesian items from Zimbabwe. The other items were genuine but this patch is definitely a fake and you only have it on the sellers word that that’s where the items came from. My reply to the seller was “That makes it a fake out of Zimbabwe then. German WWII militaria comes out of Germany and a substantial amount is fake. More fake South African militaria is produced in South Africa than any other country.” The sellers reply was “If you say so Peter.”
Yet the seller has ignored my advice and sold the patch as A 100% original UDI issue which makes the listing completely wrong and deceitful.
This was the only photo that was originally listed.
The stable belt buckle is genuine and correctly stamped REUTELER MFG SALISBURY. This was the 2nd issue as the 1st issue wasn’t stamped.
I would like to add that the Selous Scouts stable belt buckles have been faked including being stamped.
This photo clearly shows the poor construction of the badge, not made from anodised aluminium and the very bad attempt of the stamping. A very bad fake.
29 February 2012
Item number: 140711968122 - This item was listed on eBay by skot44panzer and the description reads:
- Up for auction is an original Rhodesian camo bush jacket. It is in mint condition
- Measurements: Chest 44”, Total Length 33”, Shoulder to Cuff 26”
On the 28 February 2012 the seller added the following to the description.
My observations:
- The jacket is genuine.
- The army patch is genuine.
- The RhSAS para wing for the dress uniform is a fake.
- I have never seen a dress para wing worn on a camo uniform and I believe this was added after the war ended.
- The jacket cannot be in mint condition because the seller skot44panzer told me that the jacket had been worn by the original owner to reunions.
- Once again this is a Private Listing. See what I say about private listings on the Fakes page.
In the photo below I have shown the comparison between the fake RhSAS para wing on the uniform and a genuine one that has been superimposed below it. In this photo you can clearly see the difference between the fake wing and the genuine one.
This photo was sent to the seller this afternoon.
In the photo below I have shown the things that are wrong with the fake para wing. My observations come from seeing dozens of these wings and studying them over the years.
This photo was also sent to the seller this afternoon.
After being informed in detail why the RhSAS para wing was a fake the seller stated that the item had been obtained from a Rhodesian veteran and if I wasn’t pleased with it then not to bid. I had no intention of bidding as my entire reason was to inform the seller that he was selling an item that was partially fake.
I then emailed the seller again and informed him that I had sought the opinion of another two highly respected collectors and all three of us had come to the same conclusion that the RhSAS para wing was a fake and if he wanted to misrepresent what he was selling then that decision was his.
The seller skot44panzer then emailed me and told me that he appreciated my advice and knowledge however nothing of what I have told him has been shown on his listing. In fact his listing has been updated to say that the fake para wing is not a fake!
Caveat Emptor!
My final observations:
This jacket with the fake RhSAS para wing sold on 05 March 2012 for £242 ($356.75)
There will always be sellers like skot44panzer (Skot Cross) who will lie and deceive people with the descriptions of their listings. Their sole motive is profit. Caveat Emptor!
FAKE
GENUINE
Quite often with these badges the owner or seller of them want to point to the lugs and state that they have what is known amongst collectors as “Reuteler lugs”. In this case these fake badges do have a Reuteler style lug but that means very little in the overall context of what is wrong with these badges.
The RhSAS never had lugs mounted as high on the wings as is shown here.
ARMY FAKES
THIS PAGE WILL DISPLAY FAKES RELATING TO THE RHODESIAN ARMY AND UNITS OF THE ARMY.
18 November 2011
Rhodesian pair of SAS hat badges
There were no SAS badges with sliders ever worn by the RhSAS...EVER!
Reuteler Manufacturing also never made any RhSAS badges with sliders.
These are British SAS badges NOT Rhodesian.
The seller has been informed through eBay but hasn’t replied and hasn’t shown what I have said on their listing.
Caveat Emptor!
22 November 2011
Item number: 250933544879 - This item is listed on eBay by army3757 and the description reads:
- Reuteler Rhodisia Cap Badge in good used condition.
- Berret made in Pretoria SAPH1
- Also includes Staple Belt
- Buckle Reuteler MFO Salisbury
- Sold as seen No returns accepted
*Spelling mistakes are the sellers
I asked the seller if I could see reverse photos of the Selous Scouts stable belt buckle and the beret badge. His reply was that the information was already on the listing. I then explained to him that it didn’t matter what was on the listing, most Rhodesian fakes had stampings on them anyway. The seller then did the right thing and uploaded the photos of the reverse of the buckle and the beret badge to his eBay listing.
Unfortunately for him the beret badge is a poorly made fake. I have informed the seller of this fact and I have sent him a link to this site. The seller for whatever reason has not responded to that and hasn’t changed his description to say that the beret badge is a fake which is a shame. There is no evidence that the beret was worn by a Selous Scout.
I’m also concerned that No returns were accepted.
These items sold on the 23 November 2011 for £162 ($259.59). Even though the seller received a fake beret badge and a beret quite possibly not a Selous Scout one, he/she did get a genuine Selous Scout stable belt which on the open market would fetch the $259 they paid for it.
29 February 2012
About three years ago approximately 10 pairs of supposedly RhSAS officer’s collar badges were listed for sale on eBay over a 14 month period. Since that time I could safely say that maybe two pairs have appeared for sale on eBay. I was informed by a number of people that they were made for the Rhodesian SAS in South Africa for a short period of time, possibly in the mid to late 60’s. While I know this is true for some BSAP badges I have to say that I don’t agree in regard to these collar badges.
For starters there is no evidence whatsoever that this is true except for hearsay. The reverse of the BSAP badges that were made in Pretoria were stamped with the makers name and address and are considerably better made than these badges. The RhSAS collar badges that were supposedly made in South Africa have only one stamping and that is SILVER.
The badge that I regard as a fake is clearly made in the shape and style of a RhSAS badge but their are some significant differences.
- The dividing ‘cut’ of the feathers is significantly deeper and more pronounced on the fake badge.
- There is no dimpling on the scroll.
- The legend WHO DARES WINS on the fake badge is uneven and the letters are not a uniform size.
- The detail on the Reuteler made badge is far greater than on the fake.
The above photo shows the reverse of the fake RhSAS collar badges that were supposedly made in South Africa.
My observations:
- The badges appear to be cast not struck. All Rhodesian badges were struck not cast.
- Having the word SILVER stamped on them doesn’t verify them to be genuine Rhodesian SAS badges.
- Two of the world’s premier Rhodesian militaria collectors had never seen these badges before they appeared on eBay a few years ago.
- Why is their no evidence of the maker, the period they were made or why they were even made outside of Rhodesia in the first place considering that Rhodesia had extremely competent badge makers already.
Caveat Emptor!
Updated 18 May 2012
09 April 2012
Item number: 360448590515
Training in Night Movements
Based on Actual Experiences in War Translated from the Japanese in 1917.
Part of the description by surrey_lion reads: “In the 1960’s and 1970’s this became the basic night training manual for the Rhodesian and Australian SAS”.
The above statement by surrey_lion is absolute fabricated rubbish and an attempt by this person to sell a copy of an outdated manual. As if this had any relevance in the 1960’s and 70’s after being printed in 1917.
Caveat Emptor!
02 April 2012
The above jacket (Item number: 270783907219) was listed on eBay in July 2011. One of the unsuccessful bidders was Erik Norling.
Two days after the end of the auction, the seller konofiveo contacted Erik and said that the jacket was again for sale as the successful bidder from Hong Kong had pulled out of the deal. Erik decided to buy the jacket and paid US$356 (£222) plus US$38
(£23) for postage for a total of US$394 (£245).
After four weeks Erik, realising that the jacket had not arrived contacted the seller konofiveo who gave Erik a tracking number. This tracking number turned out to be wrong.
The seller insisted that the money Erik paid could be recovered through USPS as the parcel was insured through them. However nothing happened and Erik has not been shown any evidence to show that the jacket was in fact posted as the seller stated.
On the 19 Sept 2011 the seller konofiveo sent the message shown below to Erik through the eBay message system.
One has to ask — “What happened to the money?” If as the seller said above that he had received the insurance money from USPS and he had transferred it into his bank account, why wasn’t Erik paid?
Either way Erik is US$394 (£245) out of pocket from what appears to be a dubious deal in the first place.
My observations:
- I would not buy anything from this seller. He has proven through his dealing with Erik Norling that he can’t be trusted.
- That he had banked the insurance money from USPS and that Erik would have his money refunded through Paypal within 2-3 business days. This never happened.
Caveat Emptor eBay seller konofiveo.
23 April 2012
It has been brought to my attention that an Australian dealer has used one of my photos from this site in one of his listings.
A listing that ended on the 24 March 2012 showed the following photo. I have taken a copy of this photo to show here as it is a clear breach of copyright. Unfortunately the seller has blocked me from being able to send messages to him through eBay but I will be making a formal complaint of breach of copyright to the appropriate authorities at eBay tomorrow.
This is the photo that has been copied from this site. The seller youwon12 used this next to two photos of a RhSAS OR’s anodised beret badge that he had listed. I have done the correct thing and blanked out his photos. The listing was Item number: 251019803660.
Below is a photo I have taken of this beret badge and backing shown on my site.
You will notice everything about this photo is exactly the same as the one used by youwon12 for his listing Item number: 251019803660. You can find this photo here: SAS Berets
This is a clear breach of copyright.
Below is the actual eBay listing.
24 April 2012
Item number: 251046439067
Long Range Desert Group (LRDG) beret & badge.
The sellers description stated in part:
Long Range Desert Group Commando Badged/Beret, 2 Patches, 1 Dagger Badge.
Badges all lugs intact.
Bullion patch needle marked.
Brown leather band getting fragile due to desert heat and constant wear.
These items sold today for $89.75 This is an unbelievably cheap price for what the seller states that:
Authenticity: Original
Era: 1940’s
Campaign: World War II
And to top it off he states they were bought from a collectors estate auction.
However there are some significant faults with this listing and it appears these items have been sourced separately, are not genuine and have obviously been made-up by the seller.
This seller has two eBay usernames and with one one of them he purchased an Israeli Intelligence Corps Beret out of England on the 09 April 2012. It appears the Israeli badge has been removed off the beret and a fake LRDG badge placed there instead. The Israeli Intelligence Corps Beret that was bought is shown below.
If you compare this beret to one on the listing (link) above you will see they are the same.
- The brown leather headband is the same.
- The red printing is the same and in the same position.
- The ribbon tie at the back is exactly the same and in the same position next to the two air holes.
On the 10 April 2012 the seller under his other username purchased an LRDG patch out of Italy that said in it’s description “You are bidding on a new, hand-embroidered, English badge with Scorpio”.
This is the same type badge shown here and this is also the same badge shown in listing Item number: 251046439067
My observations:
- The beret was bought by the seller as an Israeli Intelligence Corps Beret (Item number: 380424459650) is the exact same beret shown in his listing (Item number: 251046439067) but as an LRDG beret.
- The beret is the wrong colour, it should be sand or black.
- The seller stated that the leather headband would be “getting fragile due to desert heat”. — of course it would because the beret has been in Israel.
- The LRDG beret badge is a fake. Originals sell for $800+ on the market and are difficult to find.
- The new bullion LRDG patch which is clearly modern and a fake was bought separately by the seller from someone who stated that the badge was new. How can the patch be “needle marked” when it was bought as new?
- The No2 Commando (Special Service) badge is a fake. In fact the seller of these items bought this badge under another username and the item was Item number: 380432800606. The actual listing 4 x Restrike Army Cap Badges. The badges were listed and sold as restrikes, in other words copies and yet there is no mention of the word copies or restrikes on Long Range Desert Group (LRDG) beret & badge.
- Why would the seller accept $89.75 as a Buy It Now price when these items if they were genuine would easily fetch in total somewhere in the vicinity of $1,700+
Caveat Emptor!
12 May 2012
Item number: 261022096269
Southern Rhodesian African Rifles Beret & Badge
My observations:
- There is no provenance that this beret was worn or issued in 1949.
- The so-called Marksman Qualified Badge the seller bought separately and bought it as a SWA (South West Africa) Marksman’s qualification badge, so I don’t know why it is being sold as Rhodesian when it is South African.
- Private listing.
- The seller is well known for selling fakes.
Caveat Emptor!