Panzer epaulettes

[leibregiment]

May I start by thanking you all for the assistance in the Helmet which turned out wrong, I an not happy with the attached epaulettes, cannot find a "B" please advise

[leibregiment]

and more

back

[GJR100]

Nope, sorry ... These are EM shoulderstraps, these were not supposed to have metal numbers, but rather embroided. These are probably post war additions.

The "B" stands for "Beobachtung" which is an Artillery observer.

MfG,
Bart

[leibregiment]

Bart, Thanks, should I take the letters and numbers off? and are the epaulettes WW2? can I leave them blank? many thanks, Paul

[GJR100]

Hi Paul,

You could, but the holes will show. These seem to be private purchase and have a cardboard inside.

MfG,
Bart

[leibregiment]

Bart,You are so right (scary), and yes they leave a mark! do you think they had a "K" or "P" ? is it worth replacing?

[CSP]

I'm thinking the strap itself is a fake. I particularly do not lik ethe style of the underside on an EM strap like this...nor the color of cloth used. Cannot say for sure on the piping, but it may not be period.

[leibregiment]

I'm thinking the strap itself is a fake. I particularly do not lik ethe style of the underside on an EM strap like this...nor the color of cloth used. Cannot say for sure on the piping, but it may not be period.

Scott, thanks, the pictures are poor but the colours are in keeping with others I have seen, that said it is the construction that gives me some concern,

[Albert]

Hi All,

@ Scott, what exactly makes you dislike the construction of the SBs in question?

I have a pair of similar construction that are definitely period and came as part of a huge lot.

Best regards,

Albert

[Albert]

...light is a problem, here is another shot...

[leibregiment]

...light is a problem, here is another shot...

Albert, cancel last, I had never seen any like mine before, so to see yours is outstanding, well I am a happy bear now, cheers, Paul

[leibregiment]

...light is a problem, here is another shot...

I have removed the offending " B" should I be looking for a pair of "P"s or leave them blank?

[CSP]

Albert: My comment on not liking this style was not meant so much to say they are repros, but that I do not find this style particularly collectible. No boubt the thin tongue was used...most often on officer slip ons, but I have seen any number of repro EM straps using this style...which is ostensibly "private purchase".

Given the way the color of the backing looked in the set in this thread, they are suspect. But, the picture did not represent their true color apparently - which is more like the set you show. However, early straps did in fact use a similar light feldgrau color and in som eprivate purchase straps throughout the war a bottle green can be found. I just do not find any of these especially desirable.

[Albert]

Scott,

I was just wondering because you said you thought the strap itself was a fake. I see your points and agree with you (of course one should not compare officer and other ranks boards ).

I don't like this style either and have only one pair in my collection, mainly because it was part of one medic's big lot.

Albert

[CSP]

Albert:
Thanks for your response...
Right...I think it may be a fake, but I do not know for certain...which is why I said "I think" instead of "it is" or "I know...". The piping, method of stitching that secures the piping, the color of the undersides, the style tongue and the rather poorly executed button hole f(ront side view especially) all add up to a less than desirable strap for me, from what I can observe from the pictures. None of that is conclusive as a fake from the digital photo angle...just that it is not a strap to love. Add to this the clearly off-standard attachment of the metal devices and it is even less so. However, some photos from the time show that some EMs took to attaching metal insignia to their straps. If one believes this example to be a privately made piece, and thus, maybe one used on a walking out uniform (typically worn on leave/pass, etc., I believe), then some of these points are plausible and may speak to a belief it could be period original.

In the end, it is not especially collectible unless the collector focuses entirely on strap variations...and that is purely my opinion and probably not germain to the merits of the strap's originality, so sorry for introducing so much personal preference in to this thread.