SS Officer's Collar Tab

[William A. Bell]

Greetings Guys!

Would appreciate some opinions on this officer's collar tab.

Best regards,
Bill

Front:

[William A. Bell]

SS Officer's Collar Tab

Reverse:

[Felix]

Its an original collar tab.

[Felix]

I got a question for you Bill.

You have unloaded a number of quite nice insignias for opinions here on the forum. A few items have been clear fakes.

Do you actually know if they original or not?

Pardon me but its seems strange for a person to have a mix of nice originals combined with a few obvious fakes and yet seem to know nothing about them. Or pure sale tactics?

BTW I dont mind you asking but it does seem odd.

[William A. Bell]

SS Officer's Collar Tab

Greetings Felix!

No, not a sales tactic. I acquired almost all of this insignia in the course of having been a collector for the past 30 years. Gun shows, flea markets etc. Of all the insignia out there, SS has got to be some of the most heavily faked around and some of the fakes are very good. I know that there is some bad stuff in amongst the stuff I have, some is questionable and some is obviously good. I am not by any stretch an expert on SS cloth. I am merely seeking the advice of those who know a whole lot more about this insignia than I do.

Best regards,
Bill

[Stahlhelm]

Greetings Felix!

No, not a sales tactic. I acquired almost all of this insignia in the course of having been a collector for the past 30 years. Gun shows, flea markets etc. Of all the insignia out there, SS has got to be some of the most heavily faked around and some of the fakes are very good. I know that there is some bad stuff in amongst the stuff I have, some is questionable and some is obviously good. I am not by any stretch an expert on SS cloth. I am merely seeking the advice of those who know a whole lot more about this insignia than I do.

Best regards,
Bill

Although I do not know the ratio of good to bad insignia which is at issue here, I will say that the above explanation does sound reasonable. After all, anyone can spend money, if they so chose, over a period of time, and amass quite a combination of the good and the bad in the process. I personally would never collect that way, but it certainly is a possible choice.

Chris

P.S. You certainly got seriously lucky purchasing the tab above. It's a stunner, for sure!

[Carson]

I agree, but then I am a perfectionist and pay for the assurance of originality through reputable dealers. You get what you pay for and there are no "deals'" when it comes to this hobby.

To play the "hit and miss" theory is something I would find personally frustrating. Win on one and throw away the other, as it is a fake.

Reproductions are like sex with a condom. They just don't feel "right".

Best of luck to you Bill!

[RD Rygaard]

Guys:

I think we are forgetting something here. 30 yrs ago we had very little to go by in reference materials. Even the Angolia book, as good as it is, has it share of fakes & mis information. A simple typesetting error in Pias book still leads people to believe that an SS greatcoat armband without black borders exist. Mollos series relied on line drawings instead of actual photos of known good insignia. I think it prudent William ask opinions if hes not sure before placing the items on the estand.Sure obviously NOW we see bill made a FEW mistakes...but the majority are top shelf pieces....I for one am happy that these items are hitting the market!

[PMan]

Your statement Felix

I got a question for you Bill.

You have unloaded a number of quite nice insignias for opinions here on the forum. A few items have been clear fakes.

Do you actually know if they original or not?

Pardon me but its seems strange for a person to have a mix of nice originals combined with a few obvious fakes and yet seem to know nothing about them. Or pure sale tactics?

BTW I dont mind you asking but it does seem odd.

What makes the difference if he purposely mixes good and back insignia? It's all subject to opinion anyway. Who cares! I hope he unloads a lot more, both clear fakes and originals. Unload away Bill for whatever reason you have!
Peter

[Felix]

Greetings Felix!

No, not a sales tactic. I acquired almost all of this insignia in the course of having been a collector for the past 30 years. Gun shows, flea markets etc. Of all the insignia out there, SS has got to be some of the most heavily faked around and some of the fakes are very good. I know that there is some bad stuff in amongst the stuff I have, some is questionable and some is obviously good. I am not by any stretch an expert on SS cloth. I am merely seeking the advice of those who know a whole lot more about this insignia than I do.

Best regards,
Bill

Thanks Bill!

I was just curious! Please misunderstand me correctly guys. Im indeed happy you sell your nice insignias here.
I guess the explaination by RD Rygaard is quite valid. Lack of recerences, or places like this forum, didnt exist 30 years ago.

Best of luck with the sales!

Cheers

"Felix" - N. Hansson

[Stahlhelm]

I also agree that the more that's presented for discussion and "unloaded" the better. Bill might just have something in there that I'm lookinf for too. I'd buy the officer's collar tab featured in this thread myself, if I didn't already have a nice one that I paid more for from a dealer site...

Well, I didn't pay much more for mine, so it's not that disturbing, but any money saved on good stuff is welcome news to me! So, I say, "Keep unloading that stuff, Bill!"

Chris

[Stahlhelm]

Guys:

I think we are forgetting something here. 30 yrs ago we had very little to go by in reference materials. Even the Angolia book, as good as it is, has it share of fakes & mis information. A simple typesetting error in Pias book still leads people to believe that an SS greatcoat armband without black borders exist. Mollos series relied on line drawings instead of actual photos of known good insignia. I think it prudent William ask opinions if hes not sure before placing the items on the estand.Sure obviously NOW we see bill made a FEW mistakes...but the majority are top shelf pieces....I for one am happy that these items are hitting the market!

I agree 100% with RD Rygaard. Earlier, without the internet in general, and specifically with the scarcity of reference books and the mentioned inaccuracies of those that existed, it's amazing that collectors could know much of anything with certainty. I would say that anyone collecting for that long (30 years) has a much better excuse for having more fakes in their collection--even if they used the existing sources of reference and information. When I first started collecting (earlier than 30 years ago) I even unknowingly used books with incorrect info, and consequently thought that some of my good stuff was bad. I'm sure glad I figured that out in time...

I guess I should even wait a while longer, before I throw out all the stuff in my "Bad Box".

Chris