Zoll Collar Tab question

[usmedalman]

I have two different customs collar tabs but I cannot seem to find a reference identifying what different ranks they are used for. Both have green cord edges, which I think are for other ranks, but one has the customs symbol without a wreath at its base and the other has a wreath. Which ranks wore which tabs?

Thanks in advance for your help,
John

[Knuckles930]

I got these out of my soldat handbuch:





I hope this helps clear things up.

[usmedalman]

nuckles930,

actually it makes things even more confusing.

I have five different styles of Zoll collar tabs in my collection and your pictures only show three--all with just the customs symbol and no wreaths.

Two I have with the green cord border, one with the silver customs symbol without wreath surrounding it and the one with a surrounding wreath. Then three tabs with silver cord borders: one with just the customs symbol, one with the symbol and wreath, and one with the symbol and wreath plus a second smaller wreath beneath.

[ehrentitle]

John, here you go:

[ehrentitle]

I have two different customs collar tabs but I cannot seem to find a reference identifying what different ranks they are used for. Both have green cord edges, which I think are for other ranks, but one has the customs symbol without a wreath at its base and the other has a wreath. Which ranks wore which tabs?

Thanks in advance for your help,
John

John - I believe Knuckles930 images show an older version of the collar tabs. I scanned the Zoll ranks from the 1987 NVA Kalender. Note that the Hauptskreter rank shown in his image is different than mine.

[usmedalman]

Kevin,

Would you conclude then that the collar tabs with just the customs symbol and no wreath were replaced at some point in time when the new rank system was established?

John

[ehrentitle]

Yes, I suspect this is the case. My best guess was that this happened around the mid-1980s.

[Knuckles930]

My handbook is the 9. Auflage from 1980.

[SCHUPO]

Interestingly, I have an early Zoll uniform with a 1960 date (II/60) with similar collar tabs. The tunic is also stamped "AZKW" which I presume is an early Zoll property marking. The Zollschutz grey uniform has a three (3) button tunic instead of four and green piped breeches instead of trousers or unpiped breeches. It has green collar tabs with black piping and the metal insignia has been removed. It is clear that the metal insignia was simply the cadeuseus without a wreath as shown by Kunckles. I don't know if the insignia was removed during a transition or is simply missing.

[usmedalman]

It is cool how this discussions, which seem so simple at the beginning end up unearthing unexpected details. So now we know sometime between 1980 and 1987 the customs collar tabs changed with the addition of a wreath around the basic customs symbol.

On closer examination of my early tabs the snakes which are woven around the staff are much more 3-D than the later tabs. In addition the early snakes actually have a head, eyes, and scales whereas the snakes on the newer tabs simply have horizontal lines through their bodies and the head can no longer really be recognized as the head of a snake. So the fakers out there cannot simply remove the wreath from the tabs in an effort to produce the early version of these collar tabs.

[Knuckles930]

Maybe you can post a picture of those collar tabs?

[usmedalman]

Finally got new batteries for the camera. You can see the higher level of detail in the old style tab and also the fact that the caduceus is noticably larger on the new style tab.

[Knuckles930]

Interesting ones, certainly nice. Although the left one has less
detail the leafs make it a bit nicer though.