| It is a sad fact of
collecting that sooner or later items of a collectable nature are
generally reproduced, either because of their rarity, or perceived value
in monetary terms. Fortunately colour patches appear at this stage to
have escaped any major organized attempt at reproduction, possibly
because of a lack of knowledge as to exactly what existed, and the
relatively small number of specialist collectors in this field.
While there is nothing wrong with
filling gaps in collections, either for display or personal
satisfaction, which appears to be the original reason behind many of the
reproductions in existence, many of those reproductions are being passed
on with the sale of that collection, which is not only fraud, but when
identified it tends to lower the confidence of the new owner in the
status of the remainder of his collection.
In general, colour patch reproductions fall into two categories:
(a) The modem reproduction; these are unmistakable, usually being made
of a soft, compressed felt, often with a backing, and do not always
conform to the original sizes. They are in many instances similar in
manufacture and material to Series I (Heritage) colour patches worn by
some units of the Australian Army between 1983 and the present. In some
cases these are produced specifically for re-enactment groups or medal
mounting firms.
(b) The collectors' reproduction; these can be at times difficult to
identify without a close examination of the colour patch because they
are generally made up in the correct material by mutilating two or more
genuine patches. There are however several points which can indicate a
reproduction and these include: (i) The use of glue prior to the sewing
together of the various components of the patch. Even if it is not
visible the centre of the patch becomes hard where it has set. (ii)
Visible stitch holes in either the front or rear of the patch indicating
the removal of part of the original patch. (iii) The type of stitching
used to sew an inset on is not compatible with that used for the
remainder of the patch. A different colour thread is not necessarily by
itself an indicator of reproductions except for WA manufactured patches
where the primary thread colour is always white. Hand stitched patches
should be treated with suspicion, as should those where machine
stitching is incomplete or not finished off at the end of the stitch.
(iv) The existence of thread holes in grey backgrounds is unfortunately
not a sure indicator that the patch has, been worn and is therefore
genuine. There is a school of thought amongst some collectors that a
patch from the 1939-1949 period has greater significance or value with a
grey background hence some patches will be found with worn backgrounds
added on. These are usually easily identified by some or all of the
characteristics discussed at (i), (ii) or (iii).
There is no truth in the often repeated assertion that compressed felt
colour patches are often reproductions, and that the thinner facing
cloth patches are alright. Reproductions occur in both types of
material, it is just 'a little bit harder to detect those in facing
cloth because the open weave tends to conceal previous stitch holes and
the quality, colouring and thickness of the stitching differs from patch
to patch. Because of the woollen content of facing cloth there is not a
great deal of difference between wartime and postwar material of this
type and there is no doubt that patches had been made in postwar
material with the deliberate intention to deceive. This material is
slightly coarser and can be identified by its brighter shade, the use of
glue, and thick thread stitching.
Finally, only experience can provide a measure of confidence in the
status of the items in your collection. It is worthwhile retaining a
number of colour patches of different manufacture, preferably those
which have come to you directly from the individual that wore them or
their family, as controls, to which your new acquisitions can be
matched. In addition most returned services clubs and military or Corps
museums, as well as the Australian War Memorial, have colour patch
collections of varying sizes donated by the wearers' which can provide
an indisputable reference.
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