SS Eagle & Skull

[ww2germanhelmet]

Alright fellows. Before you laugh me out I have a good reason for posting these two. I believe that they are outright fakes. They are RZM marked as follows:

Skull: SS 475/43
Eagle: SS 475/42

I will share my reasoning later about the posting...and that will give you a good laugh!

Cheers! Dave

[ww2germanhelmet]

Here's a better picture of the insignia. Let me know what you guys think.

[Ian Hulley]

You are absolutely correct. Fakes

Ian

[Winkelman]

No doubt whatsoever about these ..

[steiner99]

Agree with the others... FAKE!

[ww2germanhelmet]

Thanks guys. I posted these as there is a story behind them. I had a fellow that contacted me offering a restored Allgemeine SS Visor. As part of the restoration, he purchased the insignia from Snyder's Treasures. I, as well as several others informed him that the insignia were fake and he should get a refund. So, as you can guess, a refund was not granted and this fellow is taking Mr. Snyder to small claims court in Maryland. He seems vigilant to pursue this in a court of law. Should be interesting to watch it play out. How's that for the "Rest of the Story"?

[Napalm]

Charlie will use published works by Ulrich to back up his claims...just print out the Eva underwear and show it to the judge...good luck...

[Ian Hulley]

Ah good old Snyder's Treasures ... the Darwin Awards of militaria collecting

All the best, Ian.

[dave peifer]

i find it difficult to believe people are still buying from him.........dave

[bwanek1]

Ah good old Snyder's Treasures ... the Darwin Awards of militaria collecting

I wish that were the case, but, unfortunately, it is not. If his case were like the Darwin Awards, he would have met some appropriately horrific fate long ago, himself. Instead, he thrives in this hobby and makes what looks like a fair living, buying and selling absolute crap.

While he may be intentionally selling fakes in some cases, I truly believe the sad truth is that he really doesn't know any better in others. To see if he was an outright crook or just a fool when it came to SS metal cap insignia, I acted like a walk-in at last year's MAX and showed him a beautiful original CupAl Deschler skull, as if I was looking for a buyer. He asked what I was looking to get for it and I said $500 (once it was safely back in my own hands). Even though the market was down from its high of a few years ago, that was still well below what a skull like that would bring and anyone who knows what they are looking at would know they could turn a very quick profit on it for that. However, he said simply that $500 is what he sells them for and that he could make no money on it at that price. Of course, what he is selling for $500 are obvious fakes like the one that is the subject of this thread. My point is that he truly seemed to have no clue that the original I showed him and the crap he sells were any different!

There is a whole generation of old-time collectors that built their "knowledge" at a time when good resources were few and conventional wisdom, based upon little more than conjecture, predominated. Lots of these guys built huge collections of largely fake material over many years and have no clue. In their minds, they are actually experts, because of their decades of experience. Never mind that their experience is in amassing a huge amount of worthless crap.

The more sad fact is that novices look to these types of guys as knowledgeable merely based upon their longevity and place their trust in their "expertise" because of it. That is how complete fools like Snyder stay in business...there is always someone dumber than you.

[ww2germanhelmet]

Brad, you summed it quite well. The sad part is, he enjoys relatively high placement on the search engines, consequently, newer collectors find him and dive head first into the treasure trove of sh#T. Many finally develop their skills or finally ask someone with knowledge if a certain piece is real, then bam, they learn that they have been royally screwed. It runs many potential fellows out of the hobby before they even get started, as well as makes all involved in the hobby suspect. It amazes me that the larger shows (ie MAX & SOS) even allow him on their premises to sell his "wares". It hurts the integrity of any show where he has a presence. Thankfully this fellow I am speaking with is going after him with guns blazing. People that sell fakes should be convicted of fraud and claiming ignorance just isn't good enough. As a dealer I spend considerable time vetting items to make sure that I am selling the real thing. I often post up items on the WAF to get opinions as well as reach out to authorities in specific areas via email as no one person can be an expert in all areas of military artifacts. Just because ol' Charlie doesn't know how to conduct due diligence is not a reason to give him a pass. He also plays off of his military experience and that is a disgrace....out and out disgrace. Most retired officers that I know are fellows of high character and integrity, and this guy makes them look bad. Our hobby and industry would be well served if the purveyors of fakes would be held accountable and/or run out of business. Sorry for rambling but it really torques me off that this fellow is given a pass. This is just my opinion as a smaller dealer trying to grow into a bigger dealer, with fellows like Synder pissing in the watering hole.
Cheers! Dave

[realone]

Brad,, your right on the money, I couldnt have said it any better myself

Greg

[historyfinder]

Update on Court Action Against Charlie Snyder

I'm the amateur that bought the fake insignias and chin strap from Snyder. I am going to pursue my Small Claims action, fully, even if it means I have to fly to Maryland to appear in district court. I'm also exploring "enlightening" the Tulsa Historical Society, the feds and the Stolen Valor Project about Mr. Snyder. I am a coin dealer, but I'm also very interested in military history. My son graduated in 2010 from West Point. I've never passed up an opportunity to buy material from vets or their families. The SS hat seemed exceptional. It came from the family of a Third Army vet who worked in Patton's headquarters. Stupidly, I thought restoring it was a good idea, to include purchasing authentic insignias and a chin strap. Lesson learned. I'll stick to coins and material as I find it from now on. I am surprised, though, that the militaria collectors and dealers community hasn't banned him from shows, etc. Or turned in complaints about him to the Better Business Bureaus, States Attorneys/Fraud Divisions, the US Postal Service and show operators. I know coin dealers who are banned from doing coin shows or membership in professional numismatic societies because of their ethics and disregard for the shows rules. Why hasn't this happened to Snyder?

[mametz]

I'm the amateur that bought the fake insignias and chin strap from Snyder. I am going to pursue my Small Claims action, fully, even if it means I have to fly to Maryland to appear in district court. I'm also exploring "enlightening" the Tulsa Historical Society, the feds and the Stolen Valor Project about Mr. Snyder. I am a coin dealer, but I'm also very interested in military history. My son graduated in 2010 from West Point. I've never passed up an opportunity to buy material from vets or their families. The SS hat seemed exceptional. It came from the family of a Third Army vet who worked in Patton's headquarters. Stupidly, I thought restoring it was a good idea, to include purchasing authentic insignias and a chin strap. Lesson learned. I'll stick to coins and material as I find it from now on. I am surprised, though, that the militaria collectors and dealers community hasn't banned him from shows, etc. Or turned in complaints about him to the Better Business Bureaus, States Attorneys/Fraud Divisions, the US Postal Service and show operators. I know coin dealers who are banned from doing coin shows or membership in professional numismatic societies because of their ethics and disregard for the shows rules. Why hasn't this happened to Snyder?

Well done you what Snyder and other dealers in this field do is criminal
fraud. But for some strange reason because some regard this stuff as
the spawn of the Devil it,s ok to con people.

I wish you every success in your action, the people who run the shows
know these dealers but turn a blind eye
Regards
Mametz

[Obergruppen2]