Fakes

[SG500]

A couple of years ago I purchased an unusual Bofors round. As can be seen from the photograph it looks just like a short Bofors L60. The case is 231mm long compared to the standard L60 case length of 311mm.

The round came from a reputable dealer who was completely honest with me stating that he didnt know what it was so sent it to me first so I could judge for myself.

Having studied the round for quite some time it was clear it was not a cut down case, or so I thought. The faint bands from crimping were still clear around the top. On closer inspection however I noticed that where the base of the case meets the rim there were some very very small traces of solder. I thoroughly cleaned the junction of the case wall to the base and in places the there was a very small gap. It was clear that sometime in the past the case has been shortened by cutting an 80mm section out of the case and re fixing the remainder to the head of the case so making a completely unique case length.

Whatever the reason it is a valuable lesson when hunting out rare items. They may not always be what you think they are and cutting down a case doesnt necessarily mean just cutting the top off it!

I bought this in the full knowledge that it wasnt quite right and it has gone into my collection as a curiosity. Its a good talking point.

Dave.

 

[MissingSomething]

WOW, someone had a lot of time on their hands....

Thanks for the post.

 

[Falcon]

Could something so well done have been made up as a demonstration for a possible round that was to be developed?

It seems unusual that someone would go to the trouble of doing this, its not like hacksawing the top off a case to make a better sized vase.

Are there any lathe chuck marks on the rim? I would have thought it would have to have been faced off in a lathe after sawing the section out of the case.

 

[SG500]

Hi Falcon, yes the thought did cross my mind and I wouldn't discount that idea - it just doesn't seem quite good enough to be official if you see what I mean. There are no chuck marks but there are some very faint saw marks on the base where the missing section must have been removed before the top bit was fixed onto the base again.

Dave.

 

[Birdseye]

Interesting collision between "do not clean" and "have to clean"

Generally I don't have a problem with removing layers that were not there when the thing was made.