ss stick pin

[PHILBROWN]

ive bought a nice Hoffstatter/bonn stick pin to an ss guy with the stamped number of 13341 firstly, are these any rarer than the gahr type and what sort of year would this of been made, im hoping to find out the guys name, all help gladly accepted, appologies if this is in the wrong section mr moderator, regards phil.

[RaymondG]

Hi Phil

Firstly, congratulations on your purchase.

The Hoffstatter pins are far more common than the Gahr pins, which are pretty rare indeed and do not come on the market very often. I should know as I have been looking for what seems like two lifetimes for one.

The number on the back of your pin is the pin issue number rather than the SS man's number, which makes researching the pin very difficult. I have just checked my small database of attributable pin numbers and I have no match. I have 13,342 which is damn close, but no banana, I'm afraid!

Your pin was obviously manufactured early on, though it would be pretty difficult to give you a precise date. I know that they reached around 120,000 by 1936, so I guess yours could be around 1933 or 1934.

If you want to post some pictures, or email me then I will take a look at to make sure it is a good one as there are plenty of fakes, albeit bad ones, floating around

Best wishes

Raymond

[PHILBROWN]

1 off, 1 off, how unluckys that, thanks for the reply raymond, didnt realise that they were the issue number and not his ss one, ah well . i got it for 150 uk from ivor lough in islington, hes a well respected and guenuine dealer, do you know him ? just 1 off

[RaymondG]

Hi Phil

I do not know the dealer, but wish I did as I would have had it myself

It is hard when the numbers are so close. I could try and work out the SS number of your original pin owner, but it is far from an exact science I'm afraid. It if it any consolation at all, it has happened to me several times and it makes you want to weep openly in public and not care who sees you

I do believe the SS numbers were sent through to HQ in blocks of 20 names. The problem is that not everyone wanted one of these beautifully designed items as they were a paid for pin. Thus you get gaps and the further you go with the number sequence, the worse it gets. For example, pin number 134,000 may be for SS number 251,467 and 134,001 maybe for SS number 4,567. I hope that all makes sense

Raymond

[jambobbyb]

Hello Raymond, Could i be cheeky enough to ask if your database contains pin number 120310? heres my SS pin
http://dev.wehrmacht-awards.com/foru...d.php?t=220884
Many thanks
James

[RaymondG]

Hi James

I have checked the database and I am not even close with a number.

Raymond

[jambobbyb]

Many thanks for checking Raymond

[RaymondG]

Hi Phil

Here is the back of a SS-ZA and how the Hoffstatter pin should look. I have seen various differences with the way the issue number is presented, but the basic layout and style of the pin remains constant.

If yours differs greatly from this type of back, then I would exercise caution.

Raymond

[RaymondG]

Hi

And here is another one. The image looks like the stampings are raised, to create a weird effect, but they are sunken.

Raymond

[PHILBROWN]

oh, oh, mine has the same pin attachment ,but the hoffstatter is around the base of the pin circle, it differs alot really, are these the only types known raymond ? ill post you the pics, then i may have to return it, we will see, thanks mate.

[mametz]

I have a Hoffstatter pin numbered 11782 any ideas on that one
Regards
Mametz

[RaymondG]

Hi Mametz

Sorry, no match. As a matter of interest, is the number on the back of your pin stamped, or engraved

Raymond

[mametz]

Raymond
Thanks for checking to be honest i don,t know the difference between
stamped and engraved, but looking at it i would say the number is
stamped sorry i can,t post pics. I have read somewhere that the number
is the ausweis number is this correct?.
Regards
Mametz

[RaymondG]

Hi

No the number on the back of the pin is just the pin issue number rather than being the SS members number.

I think the confusion started with an article by Angolia in the Military Advisor some time ago and it seems to have stuck

Raymond

[PHILBROWN]

before i post it back, is it generally accepted these are known fakes, are most people of this thinking,? thanks for all your help raymond, and mr herzig says thanks too.