"Spirit of Ecstasy" Real or Fake

[20 T Speedster]

Real or fake?

(I'm guessing fake because the details aren't particularly sharp.)
Approx. what vintage?

Thanks in advance.

 

 

Thanks for looking!

 

 

 

[Twisted Shifter]

I am no expert, but your example does not seem to have the level of detail of these museum pieces below. It does appear to be an older item, but after-market repros have been available for decades.

 

 

 

 

[Fordy]

I always believed that they were sterling silver, the pitting indicates the OP's is plated. I am confident that if RR plated them that they would have gone overboard on the process and originals would still look good?

Steve

[TheMoneyPit]

This is a picture of the mascot I have in my collection. It details are also a bit off but she is marked correctly as a US Springfield made phantom 1 mascot. 
 

This link was added to a discussion in the collectibles thread and might be of interest: https://rroc.org.au/wiki/images/6/6d/SpiritOfEcstasyPart4-by-BGillings.pdf

 

Without any investigation of the particular item and/or pictures of the markings I personally would not trust it, but the sharpness is not always a factor. Modern manufacturing is much better and makes them much sharper.

[20 T Speedster]

My mascot looks to be a pretty close match to the original Springfield. The pedestal on mine is a bit thinner, however.

[Terry Bond]

There has previously been some excellent discussion on the forums about the RR mascots including info that will be helpful on determining authenticity. There are many repros out there, including some nice ones. Search the forums for more info.

Terry

[TheMoneyPit]

21 hours ago, 20 T Speedster said:

My mascot looks to be a pretty close match to the original Springfield. The pedestal on mine is a bit thinner, however.

Any signature on it, or markings oof any kind? What thread size is in the base? And what is the height and wingspan? These all are important for knowing whether she is genuine and the exact years used if so… The thin base could just be a different year but as one of the most desirable mascots ever made they were reproduced in both quality and quantity.

[SpringfieldPlayboy]

The Gillings article from Australia cited above is not particularly useful, as it contains so many variations of the Flying Lady mascot as to make comparison of sizes and materials almost impossible.  The most authoritative writing comes from Rolls-Royce itself, and is a comparison of sizes since 1914.

 

After the Springfield factory was established there is usually a marking on the base (also called the "cheese") of the mascot with "REG. U.S. PAT. OFF." This is true for the mascot that came with my 1926 Springfield Silver Ghost as well as for a spare that I bought from A.J. Glew which he certified had been taken from a Derby Ghost.

 

The mascot would have been repeatedly polished over the years, blurring out the features. And sitting at the front of the car, it would also be hit by road debris, further damaging it. As a result, I don't think it's possible to tell if the subject mascot is real or not without a closer examination.