Newsletter 246 March 11, 2017
During the course of the war, the Wehrmacht and SS rarely issued stamped aluminum shoulder board unit insignia. Replacing these for enlisted personnel were machine-embroidered devices produced on a strip of cloth. For the Heer the cloth was field grey or dark green in color and for the SS in black.
The piece shown here is for the SS-Panzer-Grenadier Rgt.’Der Führer.’ This was formed on March 17, 1938 in Vienna and was later attached to SS-Division’ Das Reich’. The shoulder board is shown on a second pattern SS camouflaged tunic.
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German
4 thoughts on “Newsletter 246 March 11, 2017”
Pleasant to get away from the negativity.
Fraud is so prevalent in the trade that I think you are beating a very dead and rotten horse. On the other hand, tipping legitimate collectors off as to expensive fakes might make them want to slug you with their purses but you save the innocent from being screwed to death
Simon C.
I agree we ought to do more factual postings but the crooks and the angry victims make so much noise that they drown out honest reporting. ADR
This hobby is run by a claque of con men and swindlers. Honest dealers (and there are quite a few of these) do not have a chance around them. The WAF is a front for these boys and God help any member who dares to say, or post, anything that would injure the oligarchs. The offender is thrown out at once and members quickly circulate nasty stories about them. Most of the bigger dealers know little about militaria but much about merchandizing. And if someone like you appears on the scene, the forums and the big dealers band together to bad-mouth you and the forums forbid your name, or site, from being mentioned lest you get some unwanted publicity.
I and my friends have decided that your fulminations have cost the oligarchs millions of dollars in lost sales.
Now the average collector cannot afford high ticket items like the fake Garde du Corps helmets being made now, or fake Hitler items that all the big boys like to offer.
If you were to publish illustrated lists of the catalogs of the fakers, like that Polish fellow who makes SS statues, fake dinner silver and napkin rings, and keep this coming, soon enough many unsure collectors will drop out of the game and the ones with money, but no expertise, will get gun shy and start collecting old barbed wire or beer stein mats.
I know from friends that many have sent you reams of input about fake makers so perhaps you might go viral and start publishing catalogs like you did with the Chinese made Allach china. That market is dead now and an original piece can’t be sold by the current owner for even a fraction for what he paid for it.
As I said, the more you publish, the wider the knowledge and the wider the knowledge the sooner the elite market will collapse.
And I understand that an auction house in Florida smashed a valuable sword belonging to a customer and refused to pay for it.
Expose them, and businesses like them , so potential sellers will keep away from them. Information is the best weapon against fraud!
As you say, there are honest dealers but these are as much victims of the oligarchs as the collectors are. And I know all about the smashed sword business and I am told that the auction house and their expert are going to be sued for damages. A few more law suits that are publicized would do wonders in alerting trusting sellers, and buyers, to the dangers inherent in crooked business practices. Publishing illustrated lists of belt buckles, helmets, daggers, insignia, medals that are being cranked out is a daunting one, considering the numbers involved. But we will consider this idea and have been looking into the techniques of it, ADR