Rare BGS Splinter Camo Jacket and Cap

[GREENEDUDLEY]

The thick heavy winter coat with arm patches. I have purchased many of these in the past but have not seen to many lately. This one I still have in Germany. My wife has worn once or twice to the store in town and got some very strange looks. I told her might not be a good idea to do that again, since it still had the patches on the shoulder. The German Polizei get funny about things like that. Out of all of my different camo patterns I have collected the early BGS is my favorite.

[Gordon Craig]

GREENEDUDLEY,

Thanks for posting these great looking photos. I had a parka like the one in your second foto arrive two days ago. Mine does not have the liner and is not in as good a shape as yours but then, as you say, these are getting hard to come by these days. Interesting to see the arm badges as well. Mine does not have any and does not appear to aver had anything sewn on where I would have expected them to be.

Regards,

Gordon

[Collectinsteve]

GREENEDUDLEY,

You have some excellent pieces there. Hang onto them!

I've seen about a half dozen of the 4 pocket pull over smocks sell over as many years. They seem to go for around $200 no matter what the condition. IIRC I once saw one go for considerably more, but I chalk that up to an outlier if it even happened. I don't keep careful records of pricing.

I've seen at least two dozen of the trouser go up for sale over the years. Prices generally are in the $150-$200 range, though I saw one go for just over $250 last month. I've got two of my own and I've probably had another 4 or so in my hands. They are tough to find in decent shape.

The parkas are relatively easy to find, though there are STURM knockoffs out there that use genuine liners. Look for exposed, tan colored buttons. I've seen dozens of parkas for sale and have actually had two mint conditioned ones and several beat ones. Value is anywhere from $35 to $75, probably mostly to do with condition and the state of the arm pocket (yours has the medium level of demilling). Several years ago one point a major German surplus catalog had both the jackets and parkas for sale at very reasonable prices.

The USD prices are partially inflated by the high Euro and the auctions being in Germany and not the US. German bidders rarely bid on US eBay items due to eBay's policy of blocking most US militaria sections out of fear of the anti-Nazi laws. Unfortunately I've had to deal with these laws on a professional basis so I am actually quite sympathetic with eBay, despite it meaning some of my potential prime bidders are out of the picture.

Steve

[GREENEDUDLEY]

I purchased another uniform in the same pattern many years back. It was in new condition but had British makers tags in them that were like the ones found in British camo uniforms. I think I gave the set to my brother. I am sure he does not wear it. I will have to see if he can send me some photos of the set.

[Collectinsteve]

Yeah, I had a set like that. Cut in British Tropical style. Very good quality, but the colors of the Sumpftarn wasn't spot on. It was made by Comptom Webb in the UK for Joe Francies of Western Survival Research (USA).

Steve

[blake485]

BGS items

does anyone have a line on a BGS camo hat for sale? I HAVE A LARGE BGS collection and need one to round out my camo stuff. I know its a long shot but had to ask, John

[Guardian 5]

John - Welcome to the forum. It's good to have another beantown man in the house, although I have since defected to the neighboring Granite State.

With any luck someone will reach out to you with a private message containing an offer. In the meantime, I hope you'll share some images of your collection and join in on the discussions.

All the best,

TJ

[Collectinsteve]

Hi John,

Like TJ, I defected from Mass. However, I went a wee bit further north to Maine. However, as I type this I am in the Boston area. Had fun with traffic today. I don't really miss it

I also have a large and pretty broad BGS collection. I hope you can share some pics of your stuff. There's so much we have to learn about BGS stuff, especially the early pieces.

Sumpftarn hats are, as you say, nearly impossible to get. As luck would have it I *just* managed to get myself a second one. That's a total of 2 landed in 15 years of active BGS collecting. I've probably seen another 2 or 3 in that timeframe. It's possible, but not a sure thing, that I might be convinced to trade (not sell) one.

When my second one shows up (it's in the air now) I'll post detailed pics of them. I'm hoping my second one has a nice, readable stamp in it. Would be nice!

Steve

[blake485]

Thanks

yeah i know Mass is getting crazy!
My mom is from Croatia and emigrated to Germany in the 50's where she met my dad a GI in Munich. My aunt worked at the old Munich airport and i used to hang out there as a kid and i was always hanging with the BGS guys because they were cool (this was in the 70's). So i started collecting BGS stuff early and over the years i have had alot of it! to say the least. I am now just concentrating on the 60's and am down to a couple items that i need. I have been to a bunch of BGS kasernes in Germany (i speak the language and am in law enforcement) and have gotten alot over the years but now its all poly stuff from the 70's and 80's and i collect BGS prior to the arc being added to the uniform. I just wish i had grabbed all the stuff i have seen because its always true when you want ti its gone! haha

[blake485]

posting fotos

how do i post fotos on here?

[Jose Miguel]

Found this at a thrift shop yesterday... I think it's BGS but I'm not 100% sure as this is the first BGS-looking item I have ever purchased. Is it legit? What is it? Is it possible to date this? No zipper, only buttons to close the front. Each of the lower pockets has two smaller pockets inside, like to hold ammo mags or something (I could very well be wrong here).







Why the snaps on the sleeves?






This was on a sleeve, close to the shoulder area, inside and stamped upside-down.

[Collectinsteve]

John,

Thanks for the background! I can easily see why you got hooked young. I'm definitely looking forward to learning more about your collection. It's also good to know another BGS collector here in the states, not to mention having one so close by! This afternoon I had the "pleasure" of driving through downtown Boston this afternoon around 4pm. I really, really, really don't miss that My pallet misses the food, but my waist doesn't! PM me and perhaps we can get together sometime when I'm down visiting family. I'm always looking for stuff to trade.

Jose,

I hope you and your family are high and dry!

What you have is a nearly new 1975 BGS Sumpftarn jacket. The BGS stopped using camouflage (rare exceptions) sometime in 1976. It's 100% legit.

The snaps are what remains of the pen pocket that is so often removed or cut up when the jacket left BGS service. If you look back through this thread, or other BGS threads, you will see pictures of what the pen pocket looks like. It's a shame to see an otherwise excellent condition jacket have such a usual defect. At least the person who removed the rest of the pocket did not try to remove the snaps. This gives you a chance to do a better job that most people do or just leave them like they are.

Yes, the inner pockets were for magazines.

Steve

[blake485]

Bgs

there is actually a kind of BGS store in Munich called US WAREN and they have stacks and stacks of BGS stuff from uniforms to early shirts. The do not do online sales but i can give the address if anyone is planning to go to munich also another good company in Germany is www.stephan.de they have alot of BGS items.

[blake485]

here are a couple items from my collection

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[blake485]

BGS flare gun

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