Hussar Skull Insignia?

[William J]

I recently came across this...Is it a fake/fantasy or could it be an Imperial insignia?

Thanks in Advance!

William

[William J]

Reverse

rev

[Chip M]

Skull & Bones

William,

In my opinion, it is not from the pre-1918 period. It could be a Freikorps piece or perhaps facist Italian. There was a similar looking Freikorps patch that is being reproduced today. I have seen photos of the insignia painted on postwar armored cars and their crews wearing the patch.

Chip

[Canutt]

Uhmmm...
In my opinion it is neither freikorps nor fascist.

Mario

[Bob Lembke]

Totenkopf

William;

Haven't you shown two different pieces in your two photos? In particular the second has that very distinct vertical split, and other differences. Do you have two of them?

I'm not a specialist on insignia, but pay a lot of attention to Death Heads, and I have never seen an Imperial-era Totenkopf even remotely like these. In particular the Totenkopf from the Lieb=Husaren.

Bob Lembke

[Arran]

I believe what you have here is a badge from a society or lodge hat (North American). I see them from time to time on cloth "gladiator" style helmets worn by one of these groups...

Cheers,
Arran.

[Robin Lumsden]

William.


That's definitely not an 'official' hussar skull.

However, the Brunswick Hussar Rgt. 17 and Inf. Rgt. 92 local town/village veterans' associations produced a range of odd skulls on a semi-official basis for wear on the civilian lapels etc. by their 'old timers'. These were made right through the latter half of the 19th century and well into the 20th. It could conceivably have something to do with them, but the vets' commemoratives were usually on stickpins rather than with the five prongs as on yours. The Assmann 1930s catalogue shows a couple of these variants, which are not unlike yours.

[Allan H.]

I believe what you have here is a badge from a society or lodge hat (North American). I see them from time to time on cloth "gladiator" style helmets worn by one of these groups...

Cheers,
Arran.

Arron is absolutely right. I just saw one of these helmets with this exact insignia on the front at a local antique shop. I believe it was from an IOOF (Oddfellows) lodge.
Allan

[William J]

Update

Sorry to be so long getting back. Bob, it is the same skull and does not have a split. That is one of the five attachment pins.

From what I gather, there's really no way to accurately date or place this piece. I believe I'll pass on it. But I thought it was really interesting!

Thanks guys!

William

[Bob Lembke]

Totenkopf

William --- Now that you mention pin, I can make it out and see it's shadow.

Guys --- Do you medal collectors ever run into the medals and fantasy pieces of the German society called "Schlaffaria" or something like that? I belong to the local German Society and they have a meeting room for this society, founded, I believe, over a hundred years ago among Volksdeutsch in Czechoslovakia. They have lots of songs, rituals, etc. and have on display in the Society building a lot of fantasy medals, perhaps hundreds of them.

Bob Lembke