Transport troops M36? tunic questions

[Richard]

I have a tunic that I think is an M36 that has the light blue Waffenfarbe of transport troops on the collar tabs and shoulder boards. As you can see from the pictures it is certanly not mint. I'm going to be offering this tunic on the estand but needed some questions answered first so that I don't mis-represent it. You can see by the pictures that even though the insignia indicate transport, there is distinct infantry white piping on the inner edge of the tunic front. The collar tabs look original to the tunic or someone has replaced them using the exact same holes from the previous tabs. The shoulder boards are something that I can't determine. I don't know what it should look like if they are original to the tunic. I've tried to provide as many pictures as possible for help on this tunic. Any points, information or opinions would be appreciated.
Richard V

[Richard]

More pictures.

[NTZ]

Nice original tunic but IMO it has been post war restored. Tabs have really bad placement and in one photo I can swear I see a darker outline were the previous tabs were placed. The bird IMO has been replaced. The boards are hard to tell from the photos but my gut would say replaced. The ribbon bar loops are post war and an EK2 ribbon for a transport officer? Well I guess that it not too weird. Wholly original but restored IMO

[rameses]

hello

hello I think just like our friend NTZ and to add to a thing but the whole neck seems to be replaced, by the photo that I to see, I to have unirome with neck also changed for that reason to see hlo sewn black, surely in time pre-45,me seems original tunic a greeting.

http://webs.ono.com/usr015/rameses1992/

regards
xisco

[Richard]

Thanks for the input. Could you shed light on why the eagle looks to have been re-applied? I'll try to supply some better pictures of the underside of the collar and the collar tabs this weekend. What would be a fair price to ask for this tunic in this condition?
Richard V

[jacquesf]

It is actually not a m36, but rather a m28 old style reichheer tunic. It has the hidden pockets with flaps and the six buttons. jacques

[NTZ]

Three things do it for me on the eagle. First the rough quality of the stitching and lack of sharpness on the green badge cloth. By sharpness I mean the cut on the outside edge. Second I am pretty certain the tabs have been replaced. If so, combined with the rough stitching I would assume the eagle was restored also. Third, the law of averages. Whether collectors believe it or not a very large majority of TR tunics were de- nazified. I would guess that at least 80% of the tunics out there have a replaced bird. This to me is not that big of a deal but tabs and boards do weigh heavy in my decision in purchasing a tunic. I will post two eagles on a couple of my tunics when I get a chance. One I know for sure has never been touched; the other I have doubts on. I know it is not concrete but when it comes to period verses non-period stitching it is really a judgment call.

[NTZ]

Ok, the first bird shown here I am reasonably certain is untouched. This tunic was a directly acquired from the Vet’s widow by another forum member. Notice the very neatly stitched bird with clean cut edges all the way around.

[NTZ]

On this one I am not 100% certain it is re-attached but I am pretty sure. Look how the edges are a little rougher and the stitching is much sloppier than the first one.

[NTZ]

There is definitely no science behind it just more of a judgment call.

[Richard]

Interesting observations and thanks for the pictures for comparison. I suppose if this is a Reichswehr tunic, the eagle would have been added years later even if it were sewn on pre 1945. As I would like to offer this on the estand, any idea as to what a fair asking price would be?
Richard V

[NTZ]

Price is going to be a tough call. Everyone looks for different things in tunics. I am going to take wild guess and say between $600-$800.