very rare Willy Sprengfeil Tropical M40

[Mark Gibson]

Thanks Mark,

your observations are very interesting. Tropical M40's by Willy Sprengfeil are not well known. Many who collect DAK have never seen one. This is why I put this one up for others to see, and hopefully get their thoughts about it.

I am collecting information about Willy Sprengfeil maker stamps and this one intrigued me because of the font used for the date. It is not a usual Willy Sprengfeil type of font ???

At this stage, I am not making a call one way or the other. I am just hoping to hear what others think or have seen.

Many thanks for taking the time to add your feelings about it,

Chris

Hi Chris,
I do have other concerns about this one but thought the material of the body to be a good starting point. I'll expand a bit more tomorrow as it is late and I start very early these days.
I had actually intended to point this one out and provide my concerns when it first appeared for sale but it went pretty quickly and I kept putting it off to the point of not doing anything. I should have at the time.

Regards,

Mark

[B. N. Singer]

B. N. Singer

[OSS]

I don't think this maker started making officer's caps until long after the war.

[90th Light]

Hi Chris,
I do have other concerns about this one but thought the material of the body to be a good starting point. I'll expand a bit more tomorrow as it is late and I start very early these days.
I had actually intended to point this one out and provide my concerns when it first appeared for sale but it went pretty quickly and I kept putting it off to the point of not doing anything. I should have at the time.

Regards,

Mark

Thank you again Mark,

I look forward to what else you want to discuss tomorrow,

Chris

[90th Light]

Thank you also to Byron and OSS,

you will thus be pleased to know that it is not my cap.

The stamps in it however, are what have got my interest,

Chris

[Lenny W]

B. N. Singer

Bryon and Mr S. Your thoughts on this one
http://dev.wehrmacht-awards.com/foru...d.php?t=603690

[B. N. Singer]

Bryon and Mr S. Your thoughts on this one
http://dev.wehrmacht-awards.com/foru...d.php?t=603690

B. N. Singer

[Lenny W]

B. N. Singer

Though so thank's Bryon

[msteve21]

Fake

Hi Chris
These caps first showed up in the 1980's.They were picked as fakes then and still are 30 years later.
Mark G correct with regard to shape and another giveaway is the cockade which is a copy. You will notice the blip on the red centre (see photo)
The best person to talk to about these is Dal McGuirk, I have a copy of a letter (somehere in a box) he wrote to a Australian dealer highliting the faults with these caps.
Cheers Mark S

[90th Light]

Thanks Steve,

yes I had noticed that the cockade was a non-standard type and thus probably a bad one. Just assumed that the eagle and cockade had been reapplied after the war and they could not find an original cockade.

OK a bad cap it is then, which is both interesting and useful in more ways than one.

What is your opinion of this one which I have pictured below ?

The cap I have pictured below is considered 101% original and a very rare find. Many who have collected DAK for some time have not seen an example made by Willy Sprengfeil. The interesting thing is, the font on the makers stamp is almost identical to the stamp in the bad officer example which started this thread. Note however, the differences in the font of the date stamp. ( We need to keep in mind that sometimes the font on the date stamp, of a Willy Sprengfeil can differ )

Yours thoughts on this would be appreciated,

Chris

[90th Light]

Here is a close up of the stamp in a multi-picture. The tropical stamp from the cap in post number 25 is in the bottom right corner,

Chris

[NZMark]

Chris,
The later m40 in post 25 is original.

Mark

[msteve21]

Photos

Hi Chris

Notice the letter M in Hamburg (orginal cap) is differnt to all the other stamps.

From what I can see in post 25, agree with Mark, looks to be an original cap

Can you post enlarge photos , especially the insignia?


Cheers Mark S

[Mark Gibson]

Thank you again Mark,

I look forward to what else you want to discuss tomorrow,

Chris

Hi Chris,

I could actually have picked this cap apart but it seems that there is no real need.
Others things which I didn't like about the cap were the material used on the interior, soutache, cockade (which is seen on many very questionable caps), very obvious artificial wear and of course the maker didn't help one bit.
Just one more note about the cockade, it has been claimed that this cockade is fine but I don't think that anyone is yet to find one period attached to a 100% original cap or in any period pictures of caps. They are extremely questionable at best.

Mark

[90th Light]

Thank you Mark, Mark and Mark,

It was not a cap that I was ever in the market to buy and I have no idea who did buy it so fast.

My interest is the "WS stamp", esp when compared with the 101% example shown in post number 25 & 26.

The discussion here, has been both positive and useful. There was another cap on that site (not a tropical one) that I was seriously considering. Given what has been said about this one, to err on the side of caution would now be the wise thing to also apply to that one.

I appreciate your help and all others who have taken the time to post here or contacted me about this matter,

Chris