[WWII] can anyone ID this German memorabilia?

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silhouetteofthesun

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Jul 11, 2013
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Eagle over swastika is the Nazi party symbol.

Rifle in wreath is infantry Assault badge.

Tank in wreath is panzer assualt badge.

DCMatt
 

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the eagle patch should be navy. the wreath and rifle is an infantry assault badge, appears to be late war since it is hollow backed. The wreath and tank is a panzer assault badge. the ribbon bar, I'm not sure of the medal without digging out books. if can ID it, I'll leave another post.
 

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the medal depicted on the ribbon bar is a 50 year faithful service medal
 

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I may be wrong, but I think the SS collar tab (M5) could be 5th Motorized SS, which would be the Wiking Division
 

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jewelerguy said:
I may be wrong, but I think the SS collar tab (M5) could be 5th Motorized SS, which would be the Wiking Division
Click to expand...

thanks, interesting. someone else thought it might be this: "Early SS collar tab from the 5th Motorstandarte, headquartered in Dusseldorf. If I'm not mistaken, this is an early (i.e. 1930's) motorized formation of the Allgemeine-SS."
 

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silhouetteofthesun said:
thanks, interesting. someone else thought it might be this: "Early SS collar tab from the 5th Motorstandarte, headquartered in Dusseldorf. If I'm not mistaken, this is an early (i.e. 1930's) motorized formation of the Allgemeine-SS."
Click to expand...

it's hard for me say. I'm no expert by any means, just a novice collector and WW2 history buff. I do believe though, that it is early.
 

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I collected German militaria for many years, and I have a few red flags on these pieces. First, the eagle just doesn't quite feel right when I look at it under magnification. Something about the embroidery seems off to me. I would suggest putting it under a blacklight to see if the white thread glows. If it does it's a reproduction. Not glowing doesn't mean it's definitely real though, there are very good fakes that use non UV thread.

The SS tab.....I have seen that exact same label on many reproductions and fakes, particularly coming out of China and former Soviet countries like Poland. Here's a genuine label,
back.jpg

The infantry assault badge..... I've never seen an original with the pin riveted like that, also it looks to be cast from a mold rather than stamped as an original like that would have been.
assault.JPG

The Panzer Badge also seems a bit weak on detail, but actually looks fairly good. There's no makers mark, but that's not really a problem as some were unmarked. I still kind of lean toward it being a repro, but it's a piece I'd need to have in my hand for a good opinion.

The ribbon bar...... The back is one I've not seen on original period pieces. Many were hand sewn on the back and show stitching, or were covered with felt. Also the shape is wrong, the length of that particular one is more what I would expect from a Luftwaffe ribbon, but that's not a Luftwaffe emblem, it's a police emblem. These ribbon bars are being reproduced and I know of at least one dealer who sells them to re-enactors. Here's a photo of the front and back of an original mounted with other ribbons....

ribbon bar.jpgribbon bar2_l.jpg


I really have doubts on the authenticity of these pieces based on the pics I'm seeing. You may want to get a secont opinion from the folks at Wehrmacht-Awards.com I sold off my collection some years ago, and I'm not up on all the latest research on these items, so my opinion is based on my experiences several years ago.
 

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just a note to NOLA commentary: many Nazi items were repurposed by the soviet... in east Germany...Nazi tunics were reissued to border guard troops and police units.
while most of the items bearing swastika's were destroyed, many of the collar tabs are originals...with fake Nazi tinnies or insignia attached...

good analysis...something about the thread patterns bother me also..
also...i have never seen original medals that resemble these...just too odd to be original...the stamp is unclear on the panzer assault...Nazi items are crisp...clean...these appear lacquered.
 

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True, a lot of people think that at the end of the war the Wehrmacht simple ceased to be, but that's not true. A lot of WW2 era uniforms and equipment were still in service into the early 60's. The only real changes were the removal of swastikas from the badges, and medals, with many being phased out. Oddly enough, fakes and reproductions made from leftover parts were being sold in Germany within months of the end of the war to satisfy the demand for souvenirs from Allied occupation forces.
 

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I don't know where my head was..... the collar tab should represent 5th motorized battalion, not 5th panzer division as I stated earlier. It's been many years since I have put any effort into collecting any WW2 German items. I basically abandoned it because the market was being flooded with fakes, a lot of which were actually getting to be quite good. at the peak of my interest back in the early '80s the prices on non-questionable originals were just simply getting out of hand. I have my doubts on the items pictured because they just look too mint to be 'vet bring backs' in my opinion.
 

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Back of a skull??? From what???

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