Mills 36 repro bodies

[Millsman]

I've seen these at fairs over the last few years. I don't know where they come from.

They are sold as 'Unfinished' Mills 36 bodies.

However the giveaway is the poor moulding of the makers names on the front, the inside lacks the small recess around the striker hole and the segments are not regular size compared to the real thing. Also they seem to rust from the bottom up which possibly says something about the metal they are cast from. There is also a visible seam on the inside that does not match the normal cast marks on the outside.



They normally sell for £25 each but are a waste of money unless you want a paperweight.

John

 

[Rrickoshae]

repro bodies, not sold as such, have been available for at least 15 years. I've seen them at Chatham that long ago, the give away is that they aren't very rusty or dirty and still have clean casting sand inside and dealers had them by the box load. Everything is being repro'd these days, look at all the NFS door signs, German snuff boxes etc. Go to any local auction and see how many 'rare' items are also being auctioned just up the road. I think that dealers in repro items are touring the country passing off loads of repro items to auction houses hoping that the public will think that 'if it comes from a small local auction, it must have come from a house clearance etc and therefore must be genuine'. Don't you believe it.

Dave

 

[Millsman]

Fair points. I think I saw the first of these at one of the last War & Peace shows at Tonbridge. Dave Sampson had notes about other types of fakes on his website a couple of years before that.

John