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The Mystery of the Pasquali & Co. Sterling Airship Wings

I have been trying to track down the original of these wings for several years. The following is my theory:

This wing was purchased several years ago on eBay, It came out of the western part of the US. This was the first one I found on eBay , since then I have seen several more. At first they all came out of the west, now they are seen all over the US. A set of these also turned up in a 30 year old collection.

I have held 3 of these, and each one had a different pin. A collector friend who had access to a spectrometer (?) had a set analyzed and apparently the silver was of a type used in the 40's. The construction is correct, soldered posts and they are die struck. The wings are very heavy.

The first thing that jumps out is the spelling "Pasquali " of which I can find no reference NOT "Pasquale" which is a known wing maker. Also the wing I have has a very light weight pin, the wing from the older collection has a heavier pin, the third wing had different wing from the other two.

Finally, I was a set of these being sold by a seller who was selling the old stock of an shop from the "House of Swords". Apparently this store commissioned a lot of incredibly well made fakes of all types, lot of Nazi items and WWI wings. Though yet another collector, I discovered that apparently a family member has been selling this old stock on eBay through an intermediary.

I know that there is a lot conjecture here on my part, but the facts seem to add up. A collector buy one of these in the late 70's early 80's, nice pin. The owner of the House of Swords dies suddenly, and these wings disappear from the market. A family member starts "cleaning out the basement" and these wings resurface, possibly without pins. Pins are added with what ever is handy, and they start showing up on the market. Please feel free to drop me an email if you have any other info that either proves or disproves my theory!

Paul Conrad
Member 2808

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