Dak cap: Is this a good one

[262a]

DAK CAP: Can someone give me an opinion on this Afrikakorps Cap.
Is it yet another copy,?

[B. N. Singer]

DAK CAP: Can someone give me an opinion on this Afrikakorps Cap.
Is it yet another copy,?

From those few, poor pictures I think it could be a good one.

B. N. Singer

[Richard T]

I like what I see so far. Anyway to get close ups of the grommets, stamp?

[NZMark]

There's two very good indicators that this could indeed be an original early Schlesische....
BUT - more detailed images, please.
Mark
NZ

[90th Light]

If this one is for sale, I would buy it in a heart beat.

Although it is an images only decision. Every manufacturers footprint for this maker I can see is 101% correct.

"1940 Frankenstein" is one of the best of the best.

And a factory sewn Lime-green soutache is icing on the cake,

Chris

[Tim O'Keefe]

From those few, poor pictures I think it could be a good one.

B. N. Singer

Yes i would agree. When these are right and original it only takes a few photos. Great cap.

The unissued condition makes one think it could be from the beehive cache, except that's actually unlikely.

Great to see your post Mr Singer

[RGD51]

Neat to see a 1940 dated one as the ‘41’s and 2’s are more common. Despite less than great pix it looks great.

Robt.

[Lodsworth]

What a dilemma! For manufacturer and date, the exterior eyelet's are good, the fabric's good, the shape's good, its got the correct insignia, and the stitching is probably good. Its too bad that we can't see the interior eyelets and uncreased mint is always a worry, but if the price is right, it is probably worth the gamble. Certainly I would be tempted. Good luck to whoever buys it.
Mike

[dakcollector]

Soutache not factory applied

I've been looking very closely at the panzer grenadier soutache of this cap and asked for additional photos from the auction house. Unfortunately, I could not upload these images to the WAF (security token problem?). It's now clear to me the soutache is hand sewn on and not original to the cap.

Given the soutache has been likely post-war applied, I'm speculating the insignia could also be easily restored since this maker hand-applied the eagle and cockade making any restoration practically undetectable with the correct thread. Can't tell one way or the other...

[Lodsworth]

I don't know about the eagle and cockade but dakcollector is quite right about the soutache—the structual stitching of the cap wrongly underlies this and you can clearly see the widely spaced dark green threads used in its reattachment. I for one missed this the first time round. While still a rare cap, this is not one for a purist, and of course not anywhere near as valuable as it appeared at first sight, a reality perhaps acknowledged by the autioneer's starting price of €600. Too bad.
Mike

[dakcollector]

Cockade

Look at that cockade and how it partially folds under the top of the restored soutache. The auction pics leave a bit to be desired but I'll just say that's "interesting"...

[gbr-trooper]

Where is the cap being auctioned then maybe members can look at the other pictures that could not be loaded to make a more detailed appraisla on the soutach and cap itself

[Lodsworth]

I don't think that members who have found the cap independently and wish to bid on it would be very pleased if the auction house selling it was named here.
Mike

[RGD51]

With a Schlesische Frankenstein all of the insignia is hand stitched. It is not out of the realm of possibility that the soutache may have been too. Just saying...in fact those tiny stitches are exactly what a skilled tailor would render in a piece work facility—quick but gets the job done. The eagle and cockade are done exactly the same way and are correct for that maker.

Robt.

[90th Light]

With a Schlesische Frankenstein all of the insignia is hand stitched. It is not out of the realm of possibility that the soutache may have been too. Just saying...in fact those tiny stitches are exactly what a skilled tailor would render in a piece work facility—quick but gets the job done. The eagle and cockade are done exactly the same way and are correct for that maker.

Robt.

There is a proved case that some soutaches were be changed over and reapplied by hand from early 1941 to mid 1942.

I recently saw a 1940 dated Carl Halfar with a blue transport soutache. The seller of the cap swore black and blue that the cap was brought back from the war with the blue soutache on it. In all fairness, I have never seen 1940 dated cap with a transport soutache so it could be the case that at the start of 1941 a German soldier change the soutache on the cap he was issued to match his branch of service or may be it was changed over in 1942, because of shortages. The question is, how do you know for sure ??? The soutache could equally have been reapplied after the war ??? How does a collector know for sure ???

The problem I now see with this Schlesische, Frankenstein is the way the cockade has been resewn. Whoever had to sew the Panzer Grenadier green soutache does not seem to have had a long enough length of soutache. Hence they have folded the cockade over a bit to make it fit the apex. To my eye that is very unusual and does not look right.

The eagle and cockade look to be the correct type used by this maker on their 1940 caps. It is worth pointing out that 1940 dated caps by this maker are very, very hard to find so the cap is worth having. However, it goes without saying that the resewn soutache basically halves the value when compared to a cap with a factory applied soutache,

Chris