Translation Help

[Perry Floyd]

Bill Shea currently has a helmet named to a Ogfr. Praller. Would this be incorrect as well?
Is this one incorrect?

[Kai-Steffen M.]

there are lots and lots of different abbreviation for ranks- OG, O.Gefr., Ogefr.,Obgefr., Ob.Gefr. to name o few for this case... thats nothing to worry about.
anyway- im not happy with it for mentioned reasons..

Gruß,
KSM

[Perry Floyd]

Is it because the unit makes no sense?

[Ian Jewison]

People do make mistakes but when there are so many on a small item it makes you wonder!?
Personally I think it looks remarkbly clean for its age....fair enough it has probably been unopend for many a year but still I am not happy with it!

Over the last few years there has been a vast increase of named items for sale...to the point that one English dealer's stock is virtually all named!!! I would put money on it that the vast majority have been added post 1945!

If you are happy with it that is all that counts and no persuasion will change your mind....as you said the price was good so why bother adding a name...but the selling factor for a named item is greater!

/Ian

[Perry Floyd]

I actually thought the $45 price was better than the fact it was named. Most all canisters are minty inside because the inside was never exposed. It's very common to see one with only 30% paint on the outside and 95%-98% paint intact on the inside.
Doesn't matter if I'm happy with it as it was a small priced item for me I thought looked neat..
Maybe I should just rip the tag off to make it right...

[Perry Floyd]

So the whole marking just doesn't make sense or possible? I don't know that's why I'm asking...Would it be correct then to just remove the tag to make it right?

[Gary T]

As Kai says the Ob. Gefr. is nothing out of ordinary...but when put alongside the Marsch being spelt wrong and the fact that it was a transfer unit puts more doubt on it. Also the II A is odd.
So all told you have 4 points of contention (on their own probably explained) in just a few lines.

If I were you I'd just leave it...you're not bothered about it and it's on the inside after all.

[Perry Floyd]

If you think it's a fantasy marking, then yes it would bother me. So would it then be correct to remove it?

[Perry Floyd]

I wonder how a faker came up with this wild combination then?

[Kai-Steffen M.]

i think all this is quite interesting, but the more i look at the tag the more things i notice that i dont like- notice the neatly cut off corners (why?) but then again the left border which is totally frayed- also i dont like the handwriting - although i admit that that is very subjektive and only my personal opinion.
i am now as good as sure that this thing is not period done- thats my opinion.
it is up to you and your decision if you want to remove it. i wouldnt even if its fake.. because its already there and every means to remove it is a potential thread to the entire piece and would mean messing with it AGAIN- the tag is there and some day will become part of history itself- again only my opinion.

gruß,
KSM

[Perry Floyd]

Why would the cut corners make it suspect? Is square corners textbook? This tag is hand made, there's fraying on all sides but one. Handwriting look American or does it just look fresh to you??

[Akira Takiguchi]

Is it possible that <b>IIA</b> is meant to be the room number in the barrack he lived?

[Perry Floyd]

I don't know what these sell for in Europe in this condition but a can retails around here like this one for $70-$75.
They guy I bought it from is well known around here for selling items cheap to the dealers. He's old and one of the last around here that does hotel buys. He comes up on dealer setup with 10-12 boxes of items he's bought throughout the year. When he starts pulling stuff out it's a mad rush as everyones gathered around trying to buy. He doesn't price anything, you have to grab it and hold it up to him and he'll quote you a price. Doesn't really look at it, I held the can up and he asked me did it have a mask in it. I said yes, and he said $45.. He prices it all like 15 years ago...
So it may be a postwar added tag but if so it had to be so someone would get a kick out of frustrating someone trying to research it as all the reasons why you would but a name and unit mark on a piece of gear doesn't apply here...
If you say the unit marking doesn't make sense I have to believe you as I'm a novice at translating a unit marking thus my reason for posting it here. But to say a hand cut paper tag doesn't look properly made or the handwritting looks suspect I really would have to question. A post-war added tag adds nothing to the can so if it's not right, wouldn't it then be correct to remove it?