Opinion on Bullion Hat Insignia

[flatlander]

I was recently given this hat from a friend who knows I collect this type of stuff. The hat is obviosly a post war German hat (well marked and made in 1963). I'm wondering if the eagle and cockade have a chance of being real insignia that were placed on the hat or if they are repro's. The eagle is stiched on and the cockade most likely glued on. If I have to I can remove them but if they're known fakes I just as well would prefer to leave them on the cap. Any help will be greatly appreciated.

[flatlander]

2

[mwliles]

Difficult Question! I like the eagle! It has a nice dark green backing and has been made in the correct fashion with several types of Buillion wire to create a dramatic effect rarely seen on copies. I do not like the way the head on this eagle was executed by the craftsman.

The Wreath is even more difficult. I do not like the color of the wool that the piece was made on. It seens way too green! I also do not like the way that it fits the cap so it seems wrongly out of scale. But the work on the wire and the construction technique of the cockade is much above the average Asian craftsmanship that we are used to seeing on the copies. Maybe the cap band is not the correct width?

So I give the eagle a 90% chance and the cockade a 50% chance. Have you tried blacklighting them? One would look for a faint glow from the cardboard as modern cardboard can glow. On pieces like this is much easier to judge them off the cap and as stand alone insignia.

This puzzle is much more interesting than the Newspaper crossword puzzle!
Marion

[flatlander]

I checked with my blacklight and didn't get much of a glow. I decided to remove them so as to get a look at the reverse. Here are what the reverses look like.

[flatlander]

you can see the glue used to attach the insignia to the hatband

[flatlander]

5

[Wagnerite]

I can state with complete certainty that the wreath is a fairly common replica. The big give-away is that the black part of the cockade is made of thread not blackened bullion. I've owned a replica just like it and they are seen frequently on Janke type replica caps.

Cheers!

Dave