RZM (metal,cloth,leather) GOOD / BAD??

[SammyT]

Can anyone tell me what the guidelines are for determining a good RZM marking on metal, cloth (paper tag), and leather? I've always been under the impresison that an RZM marking should always consist of an inner and outer circle as well as the letter "Z" containing a cetral horizontal stroke through the diagonal portion of the "Z". I was also under the impression that leather products would sometimes omit the outer circle of the marking because it was sometimes difficult for the symbol to impress onto the leather.

- Can anyone give some advice what an original RZM marking should look like on metal, cloth (paper tag), and leather.

- are there exceptions to how this marking should appear

- is there a general rule as to what kind of items would/should contain an RZM marking or lable

Any and all comments and advice are appreciated.

Thanks.

Sammy T.

[CWP]

You will find a lot of variation with this mark. There were many variations of the paper tags, including tags for specific paramilitary organizations, plus oilcloth tags for uniforms and headgear. To authenticate an item you need to look beyond the graphics of the mark as this is easily copied. In theory this mark should only be on items for political and paramilitary organizations such as the SS, SA, HJ, NSDAP, etc., but there are rare cases it was used on military items, perhaps very early on. You are correct that the stamp on leather can omit the outer circle. Here is a stamp on a belt.

[CWP]

Here are the backs of two different NSDAP membership pins. As you can see, there was a lot of variation.

[SammyT]

Thanks for the great info and pics Chris. This clears things up for me on this subject.

Sammy T.