Opinions on this Walking out tunic

[jacquesf]

Thanks for running the smoke screen Jacques. I was sweating it there for awhile !!! Still waiting to hear about reaplied vs original eagles.

I would have my doudts about it being a period applied eagle, but it would not be a deal killer for me. Removed eagles are an integral part of the history of the majority of german tunics as per occupation regulations etc. Jacques

[Mark_K]

If an original eagle has been re-applied well, it is virtually impossible to distinguish from an originally applied one. And really, as long as the job has been done well (i.e. in the same way as the birds were originally sewn), it should not be a problem. I would rather see a tunic with a decently re-applied eagle than one without an eagle, but that's just my opinion.

Tell-tale signs of mediocre re-application are things like 'ghosting' of the original eagle around the edge of a re-applied eagle. That can take the form of stitch marks in the cloth of the tunic, or a noticeable change in colour. Tunic cloth faded in sunlight during wear, but the cloth that was covered by the eagle did not. So when the eagle was removed, the area under it would be as per the original tunic colour, while the other cloth all around it would be faded. To re-apply an eagle in such a case would mean covering that area perfectly, and you can sometimes see tunics where that has not been possible.

To find examples of original stitching that experts here like, you can do a search for posts about tunics. Application varied between types of tunic, and the years the tunics were made. For example, you will see many M43 army tunics with mouse-grey eagles sewn on with a tight zig-zag machine stitch around the edge. You will never see an originally-applied eagle on an M36 tunic with that type of stitching. And when it comes to bullion eagles on offcier's tunics, it seems that they were almost always hand-sewn, rather than machine-stitched.

All the best,

Mark

[AveragejoeWWII]

Mark, thanks for the info. Those are the kind of comments I am looking for. I found a post from Chris Pittman about what he looks for in orginal or reapplied eagles. KEEP THE KNOWLEDGE COMING !!!! Thanks !!!

[Mark_K]

Hi,

Another interesting thread to look through is the one on untouched tunics:

http://dev.wehrmacht-awards.com/foru...d.php?t=517817

Lots of good photos here of originally-applied insignia.

I think Chris’s comments in his thread are a brilliant summary of what to look for. I am still learning, and these online forums are a fantastic source of information and photos. What many people do is save photos of items held original/authentic by the experts, and build their own archives of reference pics on whatever subject/item they are interested in. The same is true of the ‘bad’ or fake items. I have learnt more here in the past three years than I learnt in ten years of collecting in the pre-internet days.

The other great thing you can do is post pics for discussion. I’ve done that a few times, and it has saved me from buying fake stuff. The only thing to be careful about is linking pictures directly to a dealer’s website, or saying where an item is for sale, because there is the chance that someone will jump in before you and buy the thing!

All the best, and happy hunting!

Mark

[AveragejoeWWII]

Lots of good info here. I have learn a ton as well. Anyone with more helpful hints..post away !!!