Stahlhelm Armband

[DBshooter]

Hi, First time posting at the Wehrmacht Awards forum. I'm not what one would call a "newbie" but I am by no means an expert. I collect various things from the ww2 and ww1 eras but not so much with militaria items. I was in an antique shop a while ago and this armband caught my eye so I decided to buy it. After some research I was able to determine that it was from an organization called the "Stahlhelm" but that is about it. It looks to be in very good condition with little to no discoloring and with no tears. A friend told me that it looked authentic compared to other German armbands and I have no reason to doubt him. I was wondering if anyone could give me information as to if it is a rare item, a ballpark price of what it is worth and any other interesting information about it. Thanks for any help or information!

I couldn't figure out how to post pics on here so heres a link to them
http://s1129.photobucket.com/albums/m510/Dbass3/

[Brian L.]

IMO, it's real, if for no other reason than it's quite obscure. However, the multi-piece construction, the type of material that it appears to be made of and the quality of it makes me think it's legitimate.

As far as I know, the Stahlhelm didn't wear armbands, except for drivers in the Motorized Stahlhelm. It could be one of those. Although, I expect those armbands to have a wreath with an Imperial Crown surrounding a wheel with the Stahlhlem in the middle, similar to the car Wimpeln (pennants).

The emblem is quite typical in shape and style to the Stahlhelm.

It could be a section leader's armband from a Wehrsport Kampftag, which among other things involved battle manouevres.

It could be something perculiar to one local or district Stahlhelm group. It was a very large organization by the 1930s with all kinds of anomalies in local unit badges etc., although I think this piece could date quite early - maybe early 1920s or even before.

Raised Christmas Day, 1918, the Stahlhelm took part in the first Freikorps actions in the December 1918/January 1919 Spartacist uprising in Berlin, acting as auxilliary guards with the Landesjagerkorps. Initially, they didn't have much in the way of insignia. So, one could speculate that this might be from that period and was worn much like Einwohnerwehr (civil guards) armbands.

The last thing is, that it may not be Stahlhelm at all, but some other veteran or paramilitary group. The helmet was used by all kinds of regimental, veteran, Freikorps and paramilitary groups on badges and insignia.

It's an interesting piece and it would be good to hear other opinions.

[Sergeant 08]

Who knows....but I think it can have a relation to the Stahlhelmbund.

[Brian L.]

Who knows....but I think it can have a relation to the Stahlhelmbund.

I tend to think so, too. It follows the flag design especially in the overlay of the white circle and helmet on top of the national colours.

Here's a pic of a Kraftfahr Korps Stahlhelm car Wimpel, manufactured in the same multi-piece construction and with a similar look to it.


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By the way, DBShooter, it's hard to put a price on this, as I've never seen one before. One thing I've noticed, (although others might dispute this) is that there seems to be less interest in Stahlhelm material than there used to be. 15-20 years ago, it was very much sought after. But, it seems that prices haven't gone up much and stuff seems to go for less than it should.

[Sergeant 08]

However, the multi-piece construction, the type of material that it appears to be made of and the quality of it makes me think it's legitimate.

You can compare the multi-piece construction with other known armbands. It is right, it looks like a piece from that period.

PS: Here is an armband from the Reichsbanner for example.

[wilhelm Saris]

I checked my Stahlhelm-information and regulations, but in none of this such type of armband was mentioned. Of course it is possible they were made, but then not official. Can't remember ever having seen a photograph where it was worn.

Such armband was neither mentioned in any of the "Stahlhelm Kraftfahr-Handbuch"-issues from 1929 or 1930, nor the "Stahlhelm Kraftfahr- Dienstvorschrift" from 1933. There was worn a cuffband in black with red lettering Kraftfahr Staffel with in between an automobile within the both words!

By the way the pennant shown is known as the "Allgemeiner Wimpel". When having a blue border it would have been Gau-Staffelführer or his deputy and when with a green border it would have been: Kreis-Staffelführer, Orts-Staffelführer or Kraftfahr-Abteilungsführer.