SS Lighter, real or fake???

[Spitfire_007]

Look at pictures, what do you think...

[Spitfire_007]

#1

[Spitfire_007]

And what do you think about this one???

#2

[Chris_Werner]

Boy, I've never seen anything like this before, but who knows. Hope the "SS" doesn't stand for "smoke Salems."

[ReichsHeini]

The common thing I see is the similar style of both lighters and the "insignia" on both which are little copper jobbies that show no quality and could have been added anytime to these. I bet both are offered from the same source.
Few years ago I saw some Latvian and Polish sellers on Ebay, selling everything you could imagine with SS shields and runes on them (lighters, goblets, candleholders,etc) all old stuff someone embelished with a modern made SS symbol to them to increase the value manyfold.

[panzerzacker]

There's been a wealth of things being produced with low rate insignia attached for years so that bikers and bar goers would look tougher, and for Eastern Europeans to make a quick kill on unexperienced collectors. If I had to pick one of these two, I'd go with the SS one, not the SS eagle. I don't believe the SS one to be any more authentic though, the SS's just lack war-time quality.


Assuming these are/were authentic, remember this...

1. They were custom made, which would have involved someone well endowed to buy them, which would lead you to assume they would be of good quality
2. These items were the exceptions, not the rules. Authentic war-time lighters used by the Germans varied, but a common cylindrical one seems to win over them all.

I'd treat them with caution, but if you're a smoker and wanna look tough, buy em' if they're reasonable.

[Stossgruppe3]

Lighter.......

Wot a waste of money. David