Military Medals/Patches/Pins from 5 years of Hunting

[bigcaddy64]

I've had some free time lately and have decided that I want to clean out my house before I turn into a hoarder

As I started to get deep into some drawers and cabinets, I came across a jewelry chest and this was the contents of 1 drawer. I didn't show the dog tags but I have a handful of those as well.

So far I've identified the combat infantry pin (I've got 3 now), the E for Efficiency pins, Ruptured Duck and the last pin, last row, as a German death's head from the SS.

I have more ribbons, pins and patches at my other place but I think I've already identified those.

Any help on these would be great. I know the one between the split .50 cal shell was made by a pilot but not what the pin itself signifies.

 

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[Beans]

The red with strips medal is Good Conduct Medal
The red one in the upper right is

Army Meritorious Unit Award
The Blue one is Army Presidential Unit Citation
The round eagle thing buy the Good conduct medal is for a Army Service Cap
​

The round disc with US and the one with the Wings and propeller are Enlist collar insignia. Aviation
The Patch is for the Army Air Corp
The round eagle on the bottom looks like a button can not really tell
The round disc with cannons and 60 is a Collar insignia for the 60th Field Artillery Enlisted
The Wings are for aviation, not sure for who could be Pilot, Navigator, Flight Crew. But you can always look this stuff now to confirm and get more details.

It has been awhile so some one may correct me but I am pretty sure.

 

[bigcaddy64]

The red with strips medal is Good Conduct Medal
The red one in the upper right is

Army Meritorious Unit Award
The Blue one is Army Presidential Unit Citation
The round eagle thing buy the Good conduct medal is for a Army Service Cap
​

The round disc with US and the one with the Wings and propeller are Enlist collar insignia. Aviation
The Patch is for the Army Air Corp
The round eagle on the bottom looks like a button can not really tell
The round disc with cannons and 60 is a Collar insignia for the 60th Field Artillery Enlisted
The Wings are for aviation, not sure for who could be Pilot, Navigator, Flight Crew. But you can always look this stuff now to confirm and get more details.

It has been awhile so some one may correct me but I am pretty sure.

Thank you! The presidential unit citation has a silver oak leaf so it was the units 6th citation. I'll look up the wings when I have more time but I think they are a basic enlisted and a bombardier. I didn't realize there were so many variations of those pins!

 

[diggummup]

Wings with the .50 cal shells are aircrew wings, the gold wings with the prop are army aviation branch insigna. Yes, the wings above the "e" award are Army Air Force bombardier wings. Close ups of the front and back of the deaths head skull would be needed for authentication as they are highly faked.

 

[GregK]

Quick overview of the front of the skull and it looks good to me. Looks like a nice toned piece made by Deschler. I'd imagine the back is marked RZM M1/52 or just RZM M52. Details look to be sharp and all there. I'd love to see better lighted front and back photos to be sure.

 

[bigcaddy64]

Quick overview of the front of the skull and it looks good to me. Looks like a nice toned piece made by Deschler. I'd imagine the back is marked RZM M1/52 or just RZM M52. Details look to be sharp and all there. I'd love to see better lighted front and back photos to be sure.

Of the top of my head, i think you are right. I seem to recall a triangle marking? with the lettering marked inside of it. The pin was found at the home of a Jewish WWII Army veteran so i would imagine it had some special meaning to him considering that he came home but the guy that owned the pin might not of. I've always reasoned that he kept is as a bittersweet memory of something you try to block out from memory but will never allow it to be forgotten.

 

[diggummup]

Of the top of my head, i think you are right. I seem to recall a triangle marking? with the lettering marked inside of it. The pin was found at the home of a Jewish WWII Army veteran so i would imagine it had some special meaning to him considering that he came home but the guy that owned the pin might not of. I've always reasoned that he kept is as a bittersweet memory of something you try to block out from memory but will never allow it to be forgotten.

Probably right. I found a collection of TR items in the home of a Jewish WW2 Veteran myself several years back. It was slightly more than a few keepsakes from a single fallen German soldier though.

 

[NHBandit]

Here's a favorite of mine.

 

[bigcaddy64]

Quick overview of the front of the skull and it looks good to me. Looks like a nice toned piece made by Deschler. I'd imagine the back is marked RZM M1/52 or just RZM M52. Details look to be sharp and all there. I'd love to see better lighted front and back photos to be sure.

As requested, clear pictures of the front and rear. You were correct on the markings and I was wrong about the triangle. I must of been thinking about something else I have around here.

Do you have any idea as to when it was made? Early or late in the war. Given the lack of a finish, I would guess late when time and materials were scarce.

 

[GregK]

Thanks for posting the additional images. I was right about the maker (Deschler) but wrong about the markings. This one is marked RZM 254/42. They used these markings earlier than the RZM 52 or RZM M1/52. It's made of an alloy called "cupal" in German. It's comprised of copper and aluminum and then given a silvered finish. Obviously this piece has toned nicely and has wear spots on the finish that you would like to see in originals. Because of the materials used in construction and the marking on the reverse I would place date of manufacture in the mid 30's. Post 1934 but pre 1939 for sure.

As an aside there are collectors of this badge that are "variant" collectors. They want to get one of every manufacturer etc. This is one of the most desirable of all the makers. The markings and construction materials make it a rare variant. I'm not 100% up on current values but last time I checked these were in the 4 figures.

 

[bigcaddy64]

Thanks for posting the additional images. I was right about the maker (Deschler) but wrong about the markings. This one is marked RZM 254/42. They used these markings earlier than the RZM 52 or RZM M1/52. It's made of an alloy called "cupal" in German. It's comprised of copper and aluminum and then given a silvered finish. Obviously this piece has toned nicely and has wear spots on the finish that you would like to see in originals. Because of the materials used in construction and the marking on the reverse I would place date of manufacture in the mid 30's. Post 1934 but pre 1939 for sure.

As an aside there are collectors of this badge that are "variant" collectors. They want to get one of every manufacturer etc. This is one of the most desirable of all the makers. The markings and construction materials make it a rare variant. I'm not 100% up on current values but last time I checked these were in the 4 figures.

Wow, i never realized that it could of been so valuable. Thank you very much for the appraisal and if the time comes and i need to sell it, ill at least have an idea of how much it can go for.

Ill dig out my other medals this afternoon and see if there is anything else worth posting.

 

[GregK]

Yes these are quite valuable. They aren't rare by any means (there were hundreds of thousands of these made) but they are very desirable among collectors of WWII German material. I used to own several different variants of the totenkopf (death's head) but sold off my collection a few years back. They were valued in the high 3 figures then. This one is easily in the 4 figures due to its markings and construction.

Look here: http://www.germanwarbooty.com/Metal Insignia.htm

Check item # I2099. It is by the same manufacturer as your skull but is a late war zinc based piece. It sold for $895.00 Yours is an earlier piece of better construction and with a desirable marking on the reverse. I would think even with a 50% premium added for rarity it would sell quickly to someone who thought they got a good deal.

I look forward to seeing anything else you may have to post. Even though I no longer actively collect I still have a passion for the history and study the relics of war with great interest. If I can be of any assistance then please feel free to ask.

 

[RustyGold]

Very cool collection! Thanks for the pics!