SS Overseas Hat.......Opinion

[Matt M]

Anyone care to offer an opinion on this cap.
Not my area
Teeth look a little funny
Sorry these are all the photos I have.

[Matt M]

2

[Daniele C]

it s nearly impossible to say from these pics....

[B. N. Singer]

Agreed, need better pictures.

However, I can't remember seeing an original marked that way (especially with a date) and the eagle seem to be a little "high" in it's placement (machine sewn? another thing that is not common).

B. N. Singer

[Gary Wood]

I agree with the comments above better photo's needed, is the TK machine sewn on as well?, this looks like a fake to me
cheers
gary

[bwanek1]

Even with the poor resolution, it seems fairly clear to me that the TK is a fake.

Brad

[Luca Ongaro]

I am sorry, the skull is a fake

[BenVK]

Agreed, completely fake.

[billbert]

Run away.. its the experimental 1944 SS overseas cap!!!Billbert

[Bobwirtz]

Agreed, need better pictures.

However, I can't remember seeing an original marked that way (especially with a date) and the eagle seem to be a little "high" in it's placement (machine sewn? another thing that is not common).

B. N. Singer

By 1944 didn't the clothing manufacturers of military clothing go to the RB Numbers with codes to recognize who they were? We had a thread on that on this forum and we agreed that manufacturers who had Army and SS contracts probably used the RB Numbers on all of their caps. Then again I just remembered my friend who has a Waffen-SS tropical overseas cap that has the manufacturer name in it (Schmid & Menner). I don't think it's dated though but was probably manufactured somewhat later in the war.

Bob

[B. N. Singer]

By 1944 didn't the clothing manufacturers of military clothing go to the RB Numbers with codes to recognize who they were? We had a thread on that on this forum and we agreed that manufacturers who had Army and SS contracts probably used the RB Numbers on all of their caps. Then again I just remembered my friend who has a Waffen-SS tropical overseas cap that has the manufacturer name in it (Schmid & Menner). I don't think it's dated though but was probably manufactured somewhat later in the war.

Bob

By the time of the "supposed manufacture" of this hat (i. e. 1944) the majority of clothing manufacturers (hats and otherwise) were using RB codes. However, I believe this might be more the rule with the army and air force than with the SS.

Absolutely, exceptions existed; I have seen original items that were produced in '44 with the manufactures name and in even rarer instances where there was a double stamping, having BOTH an RB number and the manufacturers name!

That aside, the markings in the hat posted in this thread strike me as being spurious.

B. N. Singer

[Bobwirtz]

I remember over the years, especially back in the 1970s when people used to create these fantasy ink stencils and put them into reproduction caps to make buyers believe they were the real thing. I even had a cap that I really think was authentic but somebody put these stamps into it and completely ruined it. With those stamps inside, nobody would touch it -- the kiss of death.

I think you're right about this particular cap -- I don't think these stencils add value to it but detract and put it into the suspicious category.

Bob

[Matt M]

Hi Guys

Thanks for the reply's
I think I will just stick with helmets, I know a little about those.

Matt

[Bobwirtz]

Well, you know that the SKULL insignia is reproduction and that the maker's mark is dubious or suspicious. So once you have things like that piling up against it, it is probably best to turn your back on it and walk away. YOU can be your own worst enemy if you want something so bad that you're willing to overlook the possibility that it may be a reproduction. The real stuff is out there. Part of collecting is the HUNT... that's the fun part: HUNT and ACQUISITION. Once I have something in my closet, I hardly go back and look at it. My focus is on the next big game to trot down the path...

Good luck in your collecting,
Bob