Gebirgsjäger Offiziere Schirmmütze

[stonemint]

Those HPC sweatbands are super-fragile--too many under the trunk peeks:

[Karl S.]

Here is another one (listed for $5200)

Hi Chris,

That's one unrealistic price, who's the seller? Bill Shea has a similar one for $3000. which looks looks a bargain; http://www.therupturedduck.com/WebPa...rhdgr/hg14.htm

Your dead on about the sweatband, I re-sewed about half of mine.

[Jerry]

That nice original, beautiful cap is from the boxful of unissued ones found in Berchtesgaden around 1973 / 1974 by longtime dealer & collector Chuck Scaglione, formerly of Buffalo, NY. I saw the boxful at the Girard, PA Gunshow back then, & I bought one for $35, I think mine was a sz 56 or 58. There may have been about a dozen caps in the box. I went thru the box & picked out a large size. When I sold my first collection, it was one of the last pcs to go,- sold it in 1988, to a WW2 museum in New Hampshire. The museum owner passed away, & the cap was sold at auction 13 March 2010. The interior of one of these caps from the find, is pictured in Tom Shutt's book "Dress & Field Service Hats of the 3dReich", on page 213, on the top right. Note the neat "Frischluft" system of the air-vents around the edges of the wreath.

I remember these from the 73-74 time frame. I bought two of these from C. Scaglione's business "The Cracked Pot". One was identical to this one featured. The other was the same but had two tiny moth bites in it. In fact this one featured might be the one I had back in 73-74. I paid $125.00 apiece for each cap. I traded them back to Chuck for a black EM SS visor that he wanted $250.00 for. I still have it today. It's not quite the quality of this cap, but it's in damn nice shape. I still wish to this day I had it back. Best looking visor I ever saw.

[Karl S.]

I remember these from the 73-74 time frame. I bought two of these from C. Scaglione's business "The Cracked Pot". One was identical to this one featured. The other was the same but had two tiny moth bites in it. In fact this one featured might be the one I had back in 73-74. I paid $125.00 apiece for each cap. I traded them back to Chuck for a black EM SS visor that he wanted $250.00 for. I still have it today. It's not quite the quality of this cap, but it's in damn nice shape. I still wish to this day I had it back. Best looking visor I ever saw.

Jerry.

Thanks for that information, I always find it fascinating when there's any history to these items.

[90th Light]

Well, well, well, you learn something every day.

Sadly I do not have a mint example from the "Berchtesgaden HPC GJ visor find in the early 70's" cache/ hoard.

All I can offer is a New Zealand brought back example from an over-run German position in "Afrika". The member of 2NZEF 27MG Battalion who I got this German officer hat off served in both North Africia and Italy 1941 to 1945.

I asked more than once, surely you got the hat in Italy but no each time he said "Africa",

Chris

[90th Light]

Either way, I do no care it is a classic been there, done that example in a tropical climate. Look at the sweat staining/ damage. Amazing how a hat by this maker has held its shape through thick and thin,

Chris

[90th Light]

Look at the period field repairs to the fragile sweatband stitching that this maker seems to be notorious for then as now.

In fact it is thanks to this thread and Stonemint's post that I now know who the maker is


Chris

[stonemint]

90th, that is a stunner of a cap, and it obviously spent some time in the sunlight. Great provenance, too.....

[Jos L C]

5K, 3K for a GBJ visor ?
Who on earth invents these prices ?

Jos.