Coinguy89

I recieved this item the other day from an eBay purchase, please look at the photos and give me an opinion on it. I've never seen anything like this before. It is extremely fragile, as the photo and the painting, as well as frame are all original. A photo of the shown soldier was attached to cardboard or some other form of paper stock. The cardboard was then painted on, to give the piece quite the unique look.

Here is the page. The seller has a protection agaisnt copying the photos so you'll have to access the page.

Thanks!

That is one great grouping!! Do you have any others?

Actually, that goes to my question, where can I find more? This is all I've got. I'd really like more as these are excellent pieces.

Thank you Bob Lyons for your replies full of excellent information. This is exactly what I was looking for. I didn't know one could dig up all that information on one soldier.

I picked this up at a local show for a steal of a price but I'm unsure of what to call it. I'm told that notable veterans that lived the war, make trips to conventions to do signings for members. What time period would this autograph have been from? Has anyone heard of this specific veteran before? As you can see, this piece also came with a frame, pretty much all ready for me to hang on my wall.

Coinguy,

Thanks for sending the markings in your tunic. They stand for;

MdI- Ministry of the Interior which is the Ministry responsible for the prison guards;

k48- is the size markings-k for klein (small) and 48 would be a size 38 in North America;

1850- is the code for the maker-a list identifying manufacturers names with their numerical code has not been found yet;

1/L- stands for the first quarter of either 1973 or 1987. L was the only alphabetical letter used twice to indicate a year of manufacture. From the pictures of your uniform on this thread I would say 1987 is a more likely date for manufacture than 1973.

I would say that the hat is definitely from an earlier period than the uniform but that is not a bad thing. Just something to note.

Regards,

Gordon

Thanks for the photo Jon. Gordon, what sort of organization would someone of the "prison guard" be associated with? Is this an actual prison for civilians or military? Who else would be associated with them? Do you have any idea how large the organization would have been? I'm trying to get an idea of what chance I have as to getting another similar uniform.

coinguy89,

Nice uniform. It is not unusual to find the cap lining loose at the front. It is difficult to repair so as has already been suggested I would just leave it alone. Most of the time when the lining is loose like this it indicates someone has removed and replaced the cap badge. It is virtually imposible to remove and replace the cap badge without cutting thread holding the lining in pace at the front. Too bad the sweat shield is missing. Be nice ti have it threr to se what is prined on it. The cap appears to be of an earlier vintage than the uniform. What is the date code inside the tunic?

Regards,

Gordon

In a white ink print I found the following: "Mdl k48 1850 l/L"

Is 1850, 1950 or is it just some "code?"

Let me know what you think of this piece, it was acquired at a pretty decent price at a local military show.

Take a look at this full uniform. Does anyone else here have one of these? I was able to pick it up for a very small price (I'm not going to say who I got it from) . Unlike many uniforms for sale, it came with not only the pants but the correct visor cap and tie. I do have a question though about the hat. If you look at the photo it appears that the inside lining has ripped slightly, is this a problem? Can it be fixed? I'm not actually sure if it has been ripped or if it is just loose and is supposed to be tucked underneith. Comments are very much appreciated.

Hi Paul,

Did you still need closeups? I noticed you'd checked out the link I left... I'm afraid this one and the ones there are the only pics I have at the moment as I just won it today. Assuming it'll be in sometime this week. Can do more at that point if needed.

Dan

Congratulations Dan. I had my eye on it, but I knew you'd get this item.

I attempted to win the Navy tunic off eBay but was sadly outbid. Obviously, it's quite attractive, not to mention the excellent ribbon bar. The other is an officer of police full uniform. Although it's nothing super special, the white jacket and green pants with stripe are just too neat. These are my favorites, that I've seen so far, besides the Forestry Service uniforms.

A great all around reference is "East Germany a country study." I was able to find the 1988 edition at my branch library in the stack. I don't know if I can find one online but I will start searching. The book is great for an overview reference and has many chapters, a whole section of the book dedicated to "national defense" with all of the armed forces, border guard, and such. It contains mostly text with quite a good number of b/w photography. In addition, there's an extensive bibliography in the back which I'm sure will point to many more sources. Obviously it is English text.

Hi all,

While watching the 40th Anniversary parade video Paul posted I caught this one and felt it would be of interest to those of us who collect DDR uniforms.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9NdCY_23b40&NR

Dan

I find it so hard to believe that there are actually Youtube videos that exist on the DDR, let alone the NVA. I only spoted a few myself of any importance to the armed forces, civil organizations, or items that would be collected. Do you know of anymore worth checking out?

BTW, does anyone know how to download these videos to their computer? I can't seem to figure it out and would greatly appreciate the help.

Gordon Craig, these items are amazing. I love the color on the forestry service uniforms. By chance, do you have any color photos of the men wearing these uniforms?

Hi!

I cannot see the uniform photo?

Paul

Hopefully that works.

If I got burned certainly it was a learning experience. I'm working on getting my second reference piece, a forum member actually has it for auction right now, a book of DDR uniforms in German. It will be over with tonight, hopefully I'm the winner. It's seriously high priced! Let me know what you guys think with this purchase. I will have some more reference materials for my next purchase so if I made a mistake I will learn from it.

My name is Scott and I'm a new collector of East German Uniforms. That's all I'm collecting with nothing else. I used to collect a little bit of everything in Third Reich militaria but it seems impossible to acquire a "collection" and the amount of fakes is ridiculous. In addition I'm only a teenager with a limited budget. So, after about a month of researching through various forums (including this one), speaking with many collcetors and dealers, and reading up on the events of the Cold War I've made the change. Eventually I'll have to sell off all of my Third Reich stuff, which I will work on but for now I'm working on acquiring my reference materials and the first piece to my collection.

I want to achieve a collection that will be a great display piece in my home. For now, I can store uniforms in a closet, but later I will purchase mannequins and hopefully have a designated "uniform room." I'm not concerned with collecting everything, as some are dull, some are junk, and some are way out of my price range. I will however be purchasing quality uniforms that appeal to me, although I want less common material, I'm surly going to buy an army raincoat pattern uniform.

I've already spoken with Paul R, Hauptman, and Gordon Craig and am getting the gist of things. If anyone has any advice, offers, or just wants to talk with a newb on DDR uniforms send me a message. I'm also active on the militaria collecting forums and the DDR Gun boards as Coinguy89. Thanks! I hope to be a regular.