Thoughts about RK and collecting...

[Steinar]

no KC cloth's ?

[DavidM]

This is probably the worse question ever on this forum, but did they ever produce a CLOTH version of the KC?


if so, it must be very very rare

Hello

No, the RK was never made in a cloth version.

Regards
David

[Steinar]

I thought so, just had to ask.... but a cloth version of the KC sounds strange

[phild]

Numbers made and current availability is always a strange and speculative debate , regardless of the item in question.

For example: I see maybe a 5:1 ratio of RKs being offered to ORIGINAL W-SS EM Inf. shoulder straps! That's right, 5 RKS to every pair of SS Inf EM straps. There would have HAD to have been at least one million pair of the latter made based on the number of SS EM infantrymen that went thru service (2 sets each minimuim average for about 500,000 SS Inf soldiers), a lot of things got dumped and lost and apparently in different ratios...to understate the current availabity.

Point is, we can play guessing games all day long but there are a lot things that will never be really explained. Another example is that I have seen probably a thousand W-SS officer crusher caps in period photos...that number probably represents 20% or less of the number that were actually used or owned by SS officers. I have collected for 40 years this year and can count the number of ORIGINAL W-SS crushers that I have seen during that time frame on my hands and toes...and be short about three caps!!! I don't just mean for sale but total seen in collections,shows, dealer sites and even forums combined.

I see about 2 for sale every 3 to 5 years as of the last 7 or 8 years....explain that? I've seen more RK oak leaves than W-SS crushers....without any doubt

[ChrisJ]

Numbers made and current availability is always a strange and speculative debate , regardless of the item in question.

For example: I see maybe a 5:1 ratio of RKs being offered to ORIGINAL W-SS EM Inf. shoulder straps! That's right, 5 RKS to every pair of SS Inf EM straps. There would have HAD to have been at least one million pair of the latter made based on the number of SS EM infantrymen that went thru service (2 sets each minimuim average for about 500,000 SS Inf soldiers), a lot of things got dumped and lost and apparently in different ratios...to understate the current availabity.

Point is, we can play guessing games all day long but there are a lot things that will never be really explained. Another example is that I have seen probably a thousand W-SS officer crusher caps in period photos...that number probably represents 20% or less of the number that were actually used or owned by SS officers. I have collected for 40 years this year and can count the number of ORIGINAL W-SS crushers that I have seen during that time frame on my hands and toes...and be short about three caps!!! I don't just mean for sale but total seen in collections,shows, dealer sites and even forums combined.

I see about 2 for sale every 3 to 5 years as of the last 7 or 8 years....explain that? I've seen more RK oak leaves than W-SS crushers....without any doubt

I'd suggest that the recipients viewed their RK's in a different way as more personally valuable them than an item of clothing (no matter how collectible they are today) and so tended to be kept safe if possible. Similarly, reading memoirs of soldiers who were involved in the fighting from the allied side RK's were certainly sought after and keenly traded as booty, whereas a lot of other stuff was simply destroyed.

My uncle actually liberated a complete mobile workshop for a panzer unit, and sold it in Rome on the blackmarket ! (and there followed several days of wine women and song no doubt)....not in context but interesting

[phild]

Chris,

I agree with with your points. Much of the comparison in this thread has been between the number of DKs and RKs available vs. the numbers made based on estimates of the number awarded.

I can only say back in the 70s and really the 80s as well metal DKs were not near as hard to find as they are today...although RKs seemed at least as hard to find then as now...in my experience back then. I have no idea as to why.

I know a local collector who had around 40 metal DKs back in the early 90s, about 3/4 of them cased. He has long since sold them to a couple of dealers, but that number alone tells you something.

[paddywhack]

My uncle actually liberated a complete mobile workshop for a panzer unit, and sold it in Rome on the blackmarket ! (and there followed several days of wine women and song no doubt)....not in context but interesting

chris i like your uncle!!!!

[ChrisJ]

chris i like your uncle!!!!

He went AWOL for three weeks....quite a character!...even in his 80's a twinkle would come into his eye at the memory.

[rkoy]

ok simple questioned for the RK unlearned....the junker(sp) was bombed out in 44 or so right? so all the junker RK have to be real there is some sorta die flaw right / that cant be reproduced....