Need help with this ss smock

[phild]

I too have seen quite a few of these for sale as repros by bigger dealers, interesting that they were usually about twice or more the price of the repros that one could by from new suppliers....but nevertheless the case. It goes to illustrate that just because an item is marketed as original, that claim does not make it so (of course!) and the reverse is also true. I have seen and been able to buy a number of original items at repro prices because the owners had been been told this (I guess). I have also been the in the other seat of selling itmes that I found out later were original as repros because I believed bad advice or was misled on purpose. I decided about 15 or 20 years ago that this would not happen to me again!
In some venues one can still buy these smocks for 5 or 10 cents on the dollar of they are worth as real ones. It is also interesting that despite the bad press that have received in the past (hopefully that will be ending now as some proof has come forward) they are fairly had to find compared to 10 years ago not to mention 20 years ago....this is not the case for may 3rd Reich items with the advent of the web. Thanks again for your post.

[Gary Wood]

It is also interesting that despite the bad press that have received in the past (hopefully that will be ending now as some proof has come forward) they are fairly had to find compared to 10 years ago not to mention 20 years ago....this is not the case for may 3rd Reich items with the advent of the web. Thanks again for your post.

As yet I see no proof that these smocks are real, did I miss something in this thread???
cheers,
Gary

[phild]

Proof in the field of Third collecting is a relative state, but I will give of summary of my logic. I believe that the photo in Bender's LAH book that has been posted by Tom is period pre may 45. The photo clearly shows an SS officer wearing a type 2 smock with the never before seen (or documented) unique camo pattern attributed as non period on the so-called 'pink smocks'. The non-standard nature has been cited as the major reason that said smocks were not pre-45 in origin. While the smock pictured is clearly of this camo pattern (see original comments by Tom) it is not exactly made like the rest or at least majority of the "pink' smocks that appeared in Germany circa 1980. The difference noted is the lack of the center line stitching in the camo loops evident in the Bender photo. This difference could/would imply that more than the single run or batch of 'pink' smock material was used during the war and that the smock pictured in Bender is not of the exact origin (ie Germany 1980) as the smocks in question. It does however demonstrate that the camo pattern (long dismissed) was in fact used pre-45.

I guess one could now shift positions and claim that while the pattern is ok the smocks are not. They were made up from vast unused stocks of rare varient OL material found in the 'East' circa late 1970s or the original rare patten was copied on fake material and used to create same smocks in the late 1970s.

My position is and has always been that if the pattern/material can be validated then the smocks were almost certainly real.

[Fritz]

Gary,

I am afraid you have not really missed something....


Phil,
would you buy 10 of these from me for usd1000.- each?

I will then check if I am able to deliver



Cheers

Fritz