another "unknown" M40 tropical cap name

[B. N. Singer]

I am certainly not very knowledgeable when it comes to these types of hats.

That being said and it could just be the pictures, but that thing seems ‘off’ to me and I could… (well you know the rest!).

B. N. Singer

[John Hodgin]

I am certainly not very knowledgeable when it comes to these types of hats.

That being said and it could just be the pictures, but that thing seems ‘off’ to me and I could… (well you know the rest!).

B. N. Singer

Nor am I, and I stand with Mr. Singer.

[ChrisH]

What i see here, Almi Luxemburg or Koblenz size stamp have wavy numbers,
see the 5 , also the 7 ........ thats for me new ?

[RGD51]

I’d say if there were other trop Heer Almi’s being shown that further show this one to be off then the case has been made but that hasnt happened. A prolific maker of caps with 2 locations certainly could have more than one particular stamp style for their product. Just saying plus— this caps positives outweigh the negatives.

Robt.

[Lodsworth]

eyelet exterior

Eyelet exterior. Big holes aren't they? And no enamel despite the cap's apparently mint condition.

[B. N. Singer]

Eyelet exterior. Big holes aren't they? And no enamel despite the cap's apparently mint condition.

KoD (kiss of death), IMHO
B. N. Singer

[RGD51]

They remind me of Frankensteins eyelets which are typical 9mm and they are crimped the same way....splayed over the washer.

Robt.

[Lodsworth]

I think we need to be very very careful with these eyelets. Till recently a plausible looking eyelet rivet was usually enough to turn an argument about a cap's authenticity one way or another, but quite a lot of nearly plausible eyelets are now turning up on otherwise dodgy caps. Here's an eyelet on a Hans Brandl [Brandt] M40. Of course if you think Brandls are OK, it will add nothing to this discussion, but many questionable features — the sweatbands, eyelets on other examples etc. — have convinced many of us that they're reproductions. Here's the link to the Brandl

http://dev.wehrmacht-awards.com/foru...0&postcount=15

Compare these, and compare the eyelets on the "Almi", to the those of the mint Schlesische, posted a few days ago. Those on the "Almi" and the Brandl are very similar. Those on the Schlesische are quite different. Yes, "Almi" could have had a different source of eyelets; and if the eyelets are steel as the vendor says, well, steel eyelets often do have bigger holes than zinc ones, but then as I observed before, steel eyelets usually have more rivet petals...
I'd like to be convinced by this cap, just as I'd like to be convinced by the caps recently posted by Tim Alexander, because if these things are fakes they are dangerous, but I'm not yet convinced by any of them
Cheers
Mike
('m having trouble with my attachments — my apologies if I duplicate them)

[OSS]

Eyelet exterior. Big holes aren't they? And no enamel despite the cap's apparently mint condition.

This feature alone would have me taking a pass on this cap.

[B. N. Singer]

They remind me of Frankensteins eyelets which are typical 9mm and they are crimped the same way....splayed over the washer.

Robt.

Similar but missing the mark.

B. N. Singer

[OSS]

I'd like to be convinced by this cap, just as I'd like to be convinced by the caps recently posted by Tim Alexander, because if these things are fakes they are dangerous, but I'm not yet convinced by any of them
Cheers
Mike

When original caps reach the market value that they have, reproducing them attracts the most talented counterfeiters who imagine they can convert a small investment into a huge profit. The result , I believe, are these excellent copies.

[RGD51]

Would certainly agree about being careful and the possibility of a new generation of superb fakes. If they are then the faker(s) really got their ducks in a row by accomplishing many crucial details that make this particular style cap hard to duplicate. The acquisition of the raw materials alone is noteworthy. When I think of state of the art repros I think Japan these days.... they are WW II fanatics and have terrific materials.

Robt.

[Tim O'Keefe]

If these are fakes why are there not more of them being sold somewhere/anywhere as fakes ?
A faker is not just going to make half a dozen caps & just cause you have never seen one before is not a red flag.

280 caps is not a very good data base for over 1.000,000 produced caps. Just this year we have found about half a dozen new M40 makers including several from Ritter etc. that a couple guys here on this thread slammed but were proven wrong when more evidence came forth.

http://dev.wehrmacht-awards.com/foru...ghlight=ritter

I do believe it's the pics that do not help this cap and should be examined in hand or at least have better photos to try to make a fair accessment.

Otherwise these are the so called "super fakes" that we have been hearing about for years but never seen till now

[Tim O'Keefe]

They remind me of Frankensteins eyelets which are typical 9mm and they are crimped the same way....splayed over the washer.

Robt.

Yes 9mm are perfectly exceptable as found on the Frankensteins, crimping is slightly different do to the operator.

[msteve21]

Hi Tim

If you were to flood the market with "super fakes " collectors would quickly work out what was going on, by the slow drip method and getting verification on line, they create an urban myth that these caps are real. Once they achieved that, the asking price can go from $3000 to $6-$7000 us dollars

When it comes to buying tropical caps, remember one day you might have to sell it, that's why I prefer to stick with caps that have war time photographic evidence of having being worn or attributed Vet bring backs. To date no one has provided any concrete proof that these are war time issue caps, opinions yes, facts no.

Personally there are too many inconsistence with this and the other caps, if they are proven to be original, great, until then its "Caveat Emptor"

PS; One point I love to know the answer to, who came up with the figure of 1,000,000 tropical caps being produced and has it ever been verified ?
Reason I ask, in 1943 there were 130,000 German troops in Afrika, so the bulk of the 1,000,000 produced caps would have been made with sweatbands and without soutache

Mark S