Buying SS cufftitles

[BrianK]

I agree with whats have been said here. Spend a few hours studying cuff titles by using the search function here as well. It gives in total better info than any books available. Also visit the top pinned threads about fake ss insignias - to avoid easy mistakes.

It is a good time to buy cuff titles now as we have a period of recession for some SS insignias including more common cuff titles. That is compared to the top prices of 2008/2009.

Classic and sought after divisions such as Nordland, Das Reich, Wiking and Totenkopf are still high due to demand and supply. A cheap but classic cuff title is the BeVo LAH. Also the gothic style Deutschland flat wire for offcers can be found for a good price these days. An Allgemeine SS numbered cuff title is a great cheap start and study object. Learn the black base weave pattern and what real paper rzm tags looks like. Goes for around 300-400 USD.

Cheers
//Felix

Yes, I agree that prices are down right now, that's one of the reasons I'm looking for a bargain, as long as it is real of course. The skull ones are the highest priced I see online, going for about $5000. From their appearances online, I don't think they are THAT rare, maybe collectors like the skull?Anyway I only want to spend $1000 - 2000 now.

[Ian Hulley]

The skull ones are the highest priced I see online, going for about $5000. From their appearances online, I don't think they are THAT rare, maybe collectors like the skull?Anyway I only want to spend $1000 - 2000 now.

Avoid the bullion ones, study the flatwire types on the forum VERY closely.

Try a search on the word 'caravelle' and 3 amigos and you'll see why.

Ian

[TonyS]

If you can wait and save up for them the Flatwire ones are very nice.

One site in the US has a bunch of them for sale but I think his prices are way over the top right now. Or it might just be me......

[TomH]

Yes, I agree that prices are down right now, that's one of the reasons I'm looking for a bargain, as long as it is real of course. The skull ones are the highest priced I see online, going for about $5000. From their appearances online, I don't think they are THAT rare, maybe collectors like the skull?Anyway I only want to spend $1000 - 2000 now.

Brian,

we are now getting into the nuances of cuffband collecting! It may seem that there are lots of skull (I assume Oberbayern?) bands out there but there are not (some are fake) and the pricing will be differentiated hugely by what type (and there are several) it is. What they all share regardless of their rarity is desirability - and this is something to learn about as well. LAH Bevo not rare but desirable for example.

The most desirable tend to be TK and TV bands which have certainly not fallen in price/value.

With a budget of c.$2K you can choose between (again for example) a nice off tunic Das Reich RZM - or both a mint Florian Geyer AND a mint Reinhard Heydrich in Bevo - I know which option I would go for! But it's all about personal preference....

In response to Felix's comment, my opinion is that you can actually spot the Bevo fakes quite quickly ( again research this forum) once you know what to look for, whereas the bullion bands can be (unless the obviously crude type) very hard to discern for a starter - particularly if they are seen as a photo rather than in hand. There are several on the forum that have been OK'd by other members that I would not want in my collection (and I've had some of them in hand).

Tom

[90th Light]

The cuff title at the top in this image is the rarest version of all SS cuff titles.

At last count, there were 6 known examples in collections today

This one, is in the best condition of them all and resides with the good "doctor"

Chris

p.s. the lower cuff title is no easy find either and very, very desirable

[Ludwig]

What do you think of Grenadier Military Antiques/Bruce Hermann as a place to buy SS cloth?

Stay away!

[Kyle Harrington]

Matin Stiles in the UK

If you want as much piece of mind as possible here is my take on the subject:
Hannahs Reich - UK aka Martin Stiles long established SS collector/dealer
Helmut Weitze - Germany solid as one can be with excellent sales policy
This is not a cheap area of endeavour, buy cheap buy twice at your peril !

Cheers Kyle

[BrianK]

Yes the Oberbayern/skull cufftitle is fascinating as there are different varieties, bevo, flatwire, etc. There also are a lot of fakes. But I'm saving that for the future. Right now I'll settle for nice, genuine examples of the more common cufftitles. The very first TR items I bought, and turned out be fakes, were SS cufftitles. I bought them not from a big dealer, but from a kindly looking old vet at a local show who guaranteed me that they were genuine. By time I found out they were fake, he had died or disappeared. Others might have discouraged, but by that time I was hooked, and determined never to be fooled again.

[TomH]

We've all been there and bought that particular T-Shirt Brian!

Good luck and let us know what you get

Tom

[Mark Edward C]

The cuff title at the top in this image is the rarest version of all SS cuff titles.

At last count, there were 6 known examples in collections today

This one, is in the best condition of them all and resides with the good "doctor"

Chris

p.s. the lower cuff title is no easy find either and very, very desirable

Those are great!!!!!!!!!!!!

[TonyS]

The cuff title at the top in this image is the rarest version of all SS cuff titles.

At last count, there were 6 known examples in collections today

This one, is in the best condition of them all and resides with the good "doctor"

Chris

p.s. the lower cuff title is no easy find either and very, very desirable

That top cuff has the aesthetic appeal of a dog turd on a fur coat.

Talk about cuff titles going from a ridiculous bizarre monkey head to one of the most evil looking skulls devised by the SS. Those two win the prize!!!

[TonyS]

The cuff title at the top in this image is the rarest version of all SS cuff titles.

At last count, there were 6 known examples in collections today

This one, is in the best condition of them all and resides with the good "doctor"

Chris

p.s. the lower cuff title is no easy find either and very, very desirable

That top cuff has the aesthetic appeal of a dog turd on a fur coat.

Talk about cuff titles going from a ridiculous bizarre monkey head to one of the most evil looking skulls devised by the SS. Those two win the prize!!!

[90th Light]

That top cuff has the aesthetic appeal of a dog turd on a fur coat.

Talk about cuff titles going from a ridiculous bizarre monkey head!!!

I might be wrong Tony,

there may only be 4 of the "ridiculous bizarre monkey head's" known in collections today. I will not mention what sort of $K's these appealing dog turds can change hands for. You would have to ask the doctor that

What they lack in aesthetics, they make up for in rarity. I suppose another case of "what one man calls poison, others call pleasure" or "beauty lies in the eye of the beholder"

Chris

Hello All,
There is actually a fourth pattern skull cufftitle. It is is Grey Thread, an RZM Type. I think there are two known examples. DJB

When I said bevo I did mean the third type you displayed. Technically it is in a flatwire weave but it is so detailed that I call it bevo. And as David said there is another pattern but it is so rare none of us will ever get the chance to see one let alone own one. I do believe Dave Delich has one, if not both of them. Greg

Very Nice ! The only People I know who own these are Hritz, Delich and you. Congrats on an exceptionally rare band in great shape.

Another of these incredibly rare cuff bands has surfaced recently from a haul of TK insignia attributed to one man.
If we are lucky, maybe the forum member who has it, will post pictures

[BrianK]

What book is that at the bottom of the photo?

[90th Light]

What book is that at the bottom of the photo?

Hello Brian, this book that Tom recommended in post number 3.

"German Military Cuffbands 1784-Present" by G. Williamson & T.McGuirl (Bender, 1998),

Chris

Hi Brian,

Also worth having is Gordon Williamson's book (although this focusses on all cuffbands not just SS and deals mainly with Waffen SS as I recall),

Tom