While researching and completing Mike Beaver's recent book on W-SS Insignia and souvenirs, I did a few pages about SS belt buckles. A long time collector sent me a close-up pic of a real early nickel silver SS O&C buckle reverse, with the maker's name spelled out 'Oberhof & Cie'. Usually, I had seen later nickel ones, marked 'O&C' or auminum ones with maker's code number. I was under the impression that O&C never made steel buckles or that if they did, the steel O&C's were absent any maker markings, therefore arguably made by other companies. Just tonight, a fellow former Detroit Police officer, who collects mainly US military items, sent me this image of a buckle his neighbor gave him about 55 years ago, when he was a kid:
This is the first maker-marked steel O&C SS buckle I've ever seen. So much for my theory that these were non-existent. This forum did make me aware last year, of the nice-looking maker and RZM coded fake O&C steel SS buckles coming out of eastern Europe in recent years.
This is the first maker-marked steel O&C SS buckle I've ever seen. So much for my theory that these were non-existent. This forum did make me aware last year, of the nice-looking maker and RZM coded fake O&C steel SS buckles coming out of eastern Europe in recent years.
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