Real SS license plate?

[K98_1942]

Hello, I need opinions on this license plate. They are rare to come across, so I don't have the knowledge needed to judge for myself.

[K98_1942]

back of plate

[PHILBROWN]

these really are heavily faked, ive had a wanted ad in for ages with no luck, looks like a rear plate from a 3tonner, i thought there should be a red proof stamp on it, but i maybe wrong, could be the front that should have one, it looks quite aged but gut instinct tells me no.so what a waste of time my reply was sorry.

[Adrian Stevenson]

It does nothing for me, sorry.

Cheers, Ade.

[K98_1942]

So the general prognosis is a thumbs down them?

[RaymondG]

Hi

From the comments it looks like diagnosis:bad

Maybe a member can post an original numberplate for a comparison

Raymond

[K98_1942]

Anybody have photos of a real one or know more about this?

[Adrian Stevenson]

Here are just a few threads for you:

http://dev.wehrmacht-awards.com/forums/showpost.php?p=2127498&postcount=1375

http://dev.wehrmacht-awards.com/forums/showthread.php?t=116013

http://dev.wehrmacht-awards.com/forums/showthread.php?t=211696

http://dev.wehrmacht-awards.com/forums/showthread.php?t=223577

There are more

Cheers, Ade.

[K98_1942]

OK, now I'm confused even more than before. That one looked very simmilar with the exception of the position of the holes. What about the one I posted makes it look like a repro? Perhaps the wear to the back vs front?

[Adrian Stevenson]

The only advice I can offer is to think about the nature of the item.

As you can see in one of the links off a link I provided, these number plates were hand painted on sheet steel. As a result they are easy to fake. Some are a little harder to copy and were made from a pressing with a raised lip around the edge. I think the presence of the red eagle stamp is comforting to have too, but again not impossible to fake.

Moving on to the wear/age. Originally these things were mounted on a vehicle and this would have created some age / wear before the vehicle was lost. I would honestly want to see black / dark brown rust and not that red shade of rust seen on the one you show. Some of the scratches to me look very artificial. Have a look at any old peice of steel from a scrapyard. Things tend to heavily rust around the eges. I have seen a lot of these number plates for sale over the past few years. Some ground dug examples are really badly rusted plus bent and twisted.

So collecting these is not like badges or cloth with flaws to compare one to another. Most of it comes down to commom sence and gut feeling. If the buyer is happy, well that is all that matters.

Hope these few thoughts help?

Cheers, Ade.

[Robin Lumsden]

The motorcycle plate shown here has been in my collection since 1980.

It was picked up by a British soldier in 1944 from a German lorry (???) in France.

It is simply hand-painted on both sides of sheet steel.

The paintwork is more roughly done than the one that started this thread.

There is no 'rubber stamp' on it, although these stamps probably wore off.

Sorry for the poor picture.

[Robin Lumsden]

The plate appeared on the cover of this book, which came out in 1987.

[colt45s]

the plate I traded had an even patania on it, not adged to make it look old.. the back was clean as if it was left out in the weather for years

[K98_1942]

Yeah, the aging is far to regular and contrived now that I think about it. Those scratches too look odd now that I think about it. Scary piece.

Thanks guys.