NSDAP Ortsgruppenleiter sign

[JoeW]

My recollection is they were made too, but the mind is going fast. What always bothered me about the glossy enamel Hier Spricht signs was how information was supposed to be applied to the slightly curved, hard and glossy surface of the ones I saw some time ago. It seems the original design was something of a chalk board? How was information supposed to be applied?

[CurtD]

My recollection is they were made too, but the mind is going fast. What always bothered me about the glossy enamel Hier Spricht signs was how information was supposed to be applied to the slightly curved, hard and glossy surface of the ones I saw some time ago. It seems the original design was something of a chalk board? How was information supposed to be applied?

Here is another one for sale:
http://www.germanmilitaria.com/Polit...os/N10652.html

This is the first time I have seen the glossy ones. I am suspicious of these since I believe they were meant to be written on with chalk.

I bought one of these a few years ago. It has been touched up with black paint by some well-intentioned but misguided collector. I will try to make photos of it and post them.

Are there any rust experts out there who can make an age determination?

There was one sold on the e-stand here a year or so ago. I remember it took the guy a long time to sell it.

[CurtD]

Hello,
I think it's time to ring the alarm bell!!

Look what I found:
All the same signs. They must be fake.

All the markings are the same
I will not pay mine, that's for sure! We don't even count the ones that are already sold. We can't check that because some auktions are protected.

I recall communicating with a collector from Florida in the days of "Der Gauleiter" magazine who had amassed a collection of almost a dozen such signs, all enamel on steel. I know there are legitimate Hier Spricht sigs out there of tin or wood. But, I personally shy away from all such heavy enamel/steel signs.

Because several of these signs show up at the same time is not proof of fakery.

Suppose the collector mentioned about has passed away and now someone is selling his entire collection of enamel signs?

The only ones that have me concerned right now are the glossy ones.

[Richard]

I believe the enameled signs were written on with a grease pencil. It was much harder to smudge the writing than if it were chalk, especially for meetings/speeches that were announced and put on the board days or weeks ahead of time. Also, it would be less subject to erasure by rain or alteration by mischievious individuals. I've seen several of these shields come out of Germany. One of which was used as a patch in a barn. On some, I've been able to find very subtle RZM marks, others are either lacking the marks or they are so faint/weathered as to be impossible to find. In comparing some of these, they have been of similar design (some have some minor lettering differences) but have oft times been of differing dimensions with slight variations in height/width. Seems that a reproduction factory would have more consistency in their wares than I have seen in these signs. Detlev had one that he sold quite some time back with the caveat that shipping would cost a bundle.
Richard V