Where to find coat buttons?

[df9465]

Hi everyone.

This is my first post. I've searched for a page that answered my question, but hadn't found anything.

I recently bought a 1960's West German greatcoat. It is pretty nice except it is missing 3 of the buttons off the front. It uses 25mm Overhoff brass (messing) buttons with the pebbled tops.

The coat looks more or less the same as this one:
http://dev.wehrmacht-awards.com/foru...d.php?t=124366

Even on german ebay, these seem hard to come by. I can find 21mm messing buttons, but not the 25mm kind.

This website is good, it has all sizes in brass... except 25mm!
http://www.raeer.com/shopexd.asp?id=28849

Does anyone have any suggestions as to where I might find 3 of these buttons? I'd be happy to buy some if anyone had some for sale. The post WW2 buttons don't seem terribly expensive compared to the crazy-prices the WW2 buttons make.

Thanks!

[uscob]

Actually, they're bronzed and not Brass as these are darker as like Navy Buttons.
I'm in Storage later the day, maybe I find them and hope I allready sorted them, otherwise I have a little problem to find them.
Option A is sorted in a Cabinet size Shelve in a Bottle
Option B is stored in one of 3000 Banana Boxes.

[Forseti]

Hi!

I also have some early BW brass buttons as reserve held for future repairs ;-)

I will take a look and if I have 25mm I will let you know


Btw. ww2 buttons are not as rare as early BW ones... - crazy. Its just ww2 has more "fans"

regards
Michael

[df9465]

Thanks for the help guys.

This is a photo of the back of the coat with details of the buttons. The back buttons are 25mm too.

http://imgs.inkfrog.com/pix/junkrwe/044_014.JPG

[Collectinsteve]

These appear regularly on eBay. However, you definitely need to be very sure about the size because there are at least three different sizes.

Steve

[uscob]

these appear regularly on ebay. However, you definitely need to be very sure about the size because there are at least three different sizes.

Steve

7

[uscob]

25,22,21,19,17,12 &12 for Cap with Splint Pins

[df9465]

I just checked. They're all 25mm overhoff bronze.

I actually just found one spare in the left outer pocket, so now I'm down to 2 that I need. I thought I had checked the pockets before as I found a mint in the other pocket. There were also two tiny dice in with the button (presumably unrelated to the coat).

I really like these military greatcoats. Anything from WW2 to 1960's. I have this german coat, plus an old french copy of the US WW2 greatcoats. I bought a couple others but they are slightly too small.

I'd like one of the blue/blue-grey airforce coats too, either RAF, USAF, or Luftwaffe.

[uscob]

I just checked. They're all 25mm overhoff bronze.

I actually just found one spare in the left outer pocket, so now I'm down to 2 that I need. I thought I had checked the pockets before as I found a mint in the other pocket. There were also two tiny dice in with the button (presumably unrelated to the coat).

I really like these military greatcoats. Anything from WW2 to 1960's. I have this german coat, plus an old french copy of the US WW2 greatcoats. I bought a couple others but they are slightly too small.

I'd like one of the blue/blue-grey airforce coats too, either RAF, USAF, or Luftwaffe.

What Size do you need? I think I have all 3 Types left somewhere. Also the Very Similar Niedersachsen Police of the old blue Type up to 1975.

[df9465]

What Size do you need? I think I have all 3 Types left somewhere. Also the Very Similar Niedersachsen Police of the old blue Type up to 1975.

All the buttons on the coat are 25mm bronze Overhoff. If there were ever any epaulet buttons, they have been removed (loops left attached). There are 2 buttons on the back, and three on the front. You can see the places where the other 3 buttons would have been on the front, but were removed to make this a left-handed closing coat.

However, I just noticed something. The "spare" button that I found in the pocket has a different shank from all the others.

Currently, all attached buttons have a fixed shank (part of a 2-piece button; bronze front compressed into a grey metal back). However, the spare button has a shank made of a loop of wire that inserts into holes in the back of the button, with the result that the shank moves about a little bit. All buttons are 25mm bronze Overhoff, and look the same from the front.

So I'm wondering, if the spare button is one of the original 3 removed buttons (from the front), then this suggests that the button shanks on the front were more flexible down one side of the fastening (the one used by a right-handed man). Maybe this makes sense as the fastened buttons would be subject to more stress than the (usually) unfastened buttons, and since most people are right handed you'd want that flexibility down that side. It's also easier to fasten buttons with a flexible shank.

Or maybe they're just different kinds of buttons. And maybe the shank isn't supposed to move so much.

The coat shown here has a closeup of a large button that has a wire-inserted shank, and it doesn't look like it moves much:

http://dev.wehrmacht-awards.com/foru...d.php?t=124366

So maybe the spare button I have is slightly damaged.

Any ideas?

I'm not too worried about having fixed-shank vs non-fixed shank buttons, so long as they look correct.

[uscob]

With the size i didn't meant the Buttons but the Coat's you're looking for. I have some in my Storage as written in the other Post. (#9)

[Collectinsteve]

25,22,21,19,17,12 &12 for Cap with Splint Pins

All of these are in Altgeld? Wow. I did forget about the cap buttons!

What are the 21mm and 22mm sizes used for?

Steve

[df9465]

With the size I didn't meant the Buttons but the Coat's you're looking for. I have some in my Storage as written in the other Post. (#9)

Oh right, sorry.

I don't have much money, so I just look out for cheap deals on ebay (etc). I paid US$30 for the bundeswehr coat, and since it was within the US already, then shipping was $15. I am from the UK originally, so I know how much international shipping can be for heavy items.

My size is 44" chest (112cm), although I will wear a little larger sometimes (45"ish), with layers, and I have a 42R coat I wear (without layers) that fits fine; I am 6'1.5"tall (187cm), so I usually would go for Long or XLong if the size is there. I'm not a militaria collector; i just like long coats, and like the cut of a few of the ex-military kinds. I imagine shipping alone would be prohibitive from Germany.

[df9465]

All of these are in Altgeld? Wow. I did forget about the cap buttons!

What are the 21mm and 22mm sizes used for?

Steve

From what I can tell so far, 21mm are used for service coats, and these seem to be the most common to find. Not sure about the others.

[uscob]

Oh right, sorry.

I don't have much money, so I just look out for cheap deals on ebay (etc). I paid US$30 for the bundeswehr coat, and since it was within the US already, then shipping was $15. I am from the UK originally, so I know how much international shipping can be for heavy items.

My size is 44" chest (112cm), although I will wear a little larger sometimes (45"ish), with layers, and I have a 42R coat I wear (without layers) that fits fine; I am 6'1.5"tall (187cm), so I usually would go for Long or XLong if the size is there. I'm not a militaria collector; i just like long coats, and like the cut of a few of the ex-military kinds. I imagine shipping alone would be prohibitive from Germany.

As many Items are under 2 Kilos you can get them Shipped as a Letter for 20Euros signed for. I'll see what I have and let you know.