Guys,
You will recall that this Waffen SS M43 was posted for review by the seller a couple of weeks ago and then posted on estand. Opinions were generally that all the components were original, but some uncertainty about when it was assembled, pending better photos and a hands-on inspection.
I now have the cap in my possession and have inspected it closely. I don't own many Waffen SS items, but do have several dozen Wehrmacht soft caps, uniforms, helmets etc, and several hundred WW1 helmets/headgear. So, I'd like to get the opinions of the experienced SS collectors here and resolve any uncertainty.
I have inspected the cap with natural light flashlight and UV, and with backlighting behind the insignia. I can find no trace of any earlier trapezoid or two-piece Wehrmacht or other insignia. I have also taken many high-res photos with flash to expose any inconsistent nap wear or stitch lines - nothing shows up as being out of the ordinary.
So, we have an M43 Einheitsfeldmutze with a machine-sewn Waffen SS EM side eagle and a hand-sewn flatwire skull. The side eagle stitching appears orginal to me - black thread on the outside and pale green thread on the inside - and is consistent with the stitching on the sleeve eagles on my two Waffen SS tunics (M43 and M44) - . The eagle is embedded into the wool. The cap has consistent nap wear across all exposed areas, and less nap wear in the protected areas. The liner is a light brown colored rayon, with no markings, but showing signs of extensive use and is worn through at the edge in several places.
The cap is very similar in configuration to those posted by Emilio and others in this thread - machine sewn side eagles, flatwire skulls, brown or gray rayon liners, very similar chinstrap loops.
http://dev.wehrmacht-awards.com/foru...d.php?t=694938
Your opinions please.
Mike
You will recall that this Waffen SS M43 was posted for review by the seller a couple of weeks ago and then posted on estand. Opinions were generally that all the components were original, but some uncertainty about when it was assembled, pending better photos and a hands-on inspection.
I now have the cap in my possession and have inspected it closely. I don't own many Waffen SS items, but do have several dozen Wehrmacht soft caps, uniforms, helmets etc, and several hundred WW1 helmets/headgear. So, I'd like to get the opinions of the experienced SS collectors here and resolve any uncertainty.
I have inspected the cap with natural light flashlight and UV, and with backlighting behind the insignia. I can find no trace of any earlier trapezoid or two-piece Wehrmacht or other insignia. I have also taken many high-res photos with flash to expose any inconsistent nap wear or stitch lines - nothing shows up as being out of the ordinary.
So, we have an M43 Einheitsfeldmutze with a machine-sewn Waffen SS EM side eagle and a hand-sewn flatwire skull. The side eagle stitching appears orginal to me - black thread on the outside and pale green thread on the inside - and is consistent with the stitching on the sleeve eagles on my two Waffen SS tunics (M43 and M44) - . The eagle is embedded into the wool. The cap has consistent nap wear across all exposed areas, and less nap wear in the protected areas. The liner is a light brown colored rayon, with no markings, but showing signs of extensive use and is worn through at the edge in several places.
The cap is very similar in configuration to those posted by Emilio and others in this thread - machine sewn side eagles, flatwire skulls, brown or gray rayon liners, very similar chinstrap loops.
http://dev.wehrmacht-awards.com/foru...d.php?t=694938
Your opinions please.
Mike
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