Gary B

For Paul... A pair of Medical or TSD Oberleutnant tabs theater made (Italian). The tabs exhibit a little more wear than I like but I could not pass on them considering their rarity.

Next is a nice set of SHD tabs with the alternating colored piping which indicates grade 1-5. The set are still sewn together and are especially nice since the letters are chain stitched.

Here are a few tabs that just joined my collection.... First up is a nice pair of Oberst, Signal Corp. They are still sewn together and come with the price tag (fell off but still with the tabs) Gary B

Hi, Identified....I was recently told by a friend that these are West German Customs tabs from the 70s. Gary B

Thanks, Rick! Gary B

Hi Paul, Long time no hear! ASMIC show was a bust...I got nothing and saw nothing. I will have to send scans of back later when I get home. The tabs were labelled as Police Tabs whn I got them 30 years ago for a few dollars. They sort of look like a cross between SA/Luft Admin tabs (SA/SS pips with a strange 1/2 wreath) I assume it would be for a Oberleutnant. G

I got these 30 years ago and have no idea what they are.....any ideas? Gary B

Paul, Also on page 12 and 13, Angoilia mentions the different colors some of which were used on the waffenfarbe (Green/Wine red/Crimpson and Black), indicated by an asterisk. I just wonder why we dont see more of these other colors. I believe Garth has a set of Black admin tabs? Gary B

Dear Stijn, Great and RARE grouping. Congrats. Gary B

Hi Paul, Page 36 of Angolias VOL 2. It mentions a switch to black waffenfarbe for Engineer Construction Admin. I dont believe he is talking about the black tabs with gulls. I also think there was a mention of black for musician leaders working for the RLB. Gary B

Paul, Thanks for your quick analysis. I have been reading the appropriate collar tab sections in Angolia's Vols 1 & 2 and am more and more confused by the plethora of different tabs/pipings/waffenfarbes all of which are complicated even more so by change to thew Luft regulations every few years! No wonder they lost the war!!!! They probably could not even figure out there own rank structure. I hope to eventually come up with a simple checklist (by waffenfarbe color & piping) that outlines all of the Admin tabs. In the end I think this will make things much easier when looking for those spots in the collection. Gary B

Hi, I have some questions regarding the Luft Beamte tabs. I was fortunate enought to borrow a copy of Angolias book on Luft Traditions from a friend and have been reading about the various Admin tabs. Quite a confusing issue..... So here are my questions: 1) I have been able to ID a few different waffenfarbes/colors: Dark Green (Admin), Wine Red (Judicial) and Crimson (Courts martial) and Black (initially for Band under the RLM???, is there a black??). Are there any more waffenfarbes for the Admin field? 2) Officer ranks were from LT to General officer but I believe that not all career fields had all the ranks, i.e. some might have gone from, LT to MAJ while others went from LT to Oberstleutnant? Correct? 3) There were 4 careers (Low, Medium, Elevated and High). Low had NO piping. Medium had tiwsted green and silver piping??? Elevated had Silver piping and High had Gold piping. So was it possible for some ranks to exist in both gold piping and silver piping since the different fields had different educational requirements for their ranks, i.e. Major might have silver piping in one career field but have gold piping in another field since the educational requirements for a Major in that one field were higher than in the other. Well that is it for now? I am just trying to see how many different tabs there are int he Admin field. Gary B

Dear John, I agree....send the flag my way so the 2 can be reunited! Dear Paul, More to follow, hopefully after the ASMIC show. Gary B

Hi, One more set for the collection. The tabs have some very minor oxydation but considering the rarity of the tabs, I can live with that! Gary B

Hi, The bottom Signal ones look good to me. Gary B

Dear Micha, Yes I agree not as much rare as not common/scarce. Having seen the number of crosses you have in your collection it does not surprise me that you would have 2 of these L/11 (no boxes) in your collection! Gary B

Dear Nan Su, Very nice cross with rare variation on the location of the L/11 mark. There are 3 variations to the L/11 mark as I know it. The most common is the L/11 in a box underneath the catch. A less seen version is L/11 (no box) beneath the catch and your version. I believe yours is only the 2nd I have seen like this. I have only seen 2 versions of the L/11 (no box) version as well. Gary B

Hi Dan, Given the rarity of the prinzen wound badges, they don't seem to command as high a price as one would expect/think. I think this is due to a few factors: 1) the quality of the prinzen wound badges is not like a Prinzen EK1/EK2 or prinzen pilot badge nor is the quality comparable to some of the better quality full sized private purchase wound badges 2) there are not a lot of wound badge collectors like there are EK collectors or aviation specialists 3) I can not recall ever seeing a prinzen wound badge in wear in period photos but I have seen prinzen EKs in wear 4) the prinzen wound badges are so rare that hardly anyone knows about them, plus they could be for civilian wear 5) their bigger brothers (the real sized Imperial wound badges) don't command "high" prices, but I think this will change in the future. As Third Reich items move out of the price range of many collectors, those same collectors will turn their interest to other items such as Imperial, where the quality is just as high but the items much cheaper. As for prices on the prinzens, a dealer at a show I was at recently was asking $150 for a silver prinzen. I have seen a few black prinzens sell for around $50. Ken Greenfield of Der Rittmeister has a set of a BWB and matching prinzen for $125. Since he is asking about $40 for full sized black wound badges that leaves about $80 for the black prinzen size one. As far as your set would go, I believe about $300-$400, not that you would ever sell them. Also a set like that is really worth what someone is willing to pay for it; the wound badge collector who needs the set to complete his collection would be perhaps willing to pay more. But prices are not what makes this hobby great. You have a great set there, something I would be proud to have in my collection. Gary B

Dear Dan, Nice collection. A few comments to add to what has already been said. Sorry about the repro wound badge, but glad you did not pay alot for it. As has been mentioned, if you want to get a nice Gold Wound badge, I would recommend a 30 from Wien (mkd or unmkd). They, in my opinion, and many will agree, are the best gold WBs available. They retained their finish quite well over 60 years and I cant recall another maker that can compete with their finishes. Now on to more important stuff.....I have been a collector for 30 plus years and at one time collected Wound badges. I still have a small collection of them but still enjoy looking for variations at shows. Now in over 30 years I can not recall ever seeing a complete set of prinzens. I purchased a Black prinzen years ago and can recall seeing a few others in the years past. I know of one for sale on a site now. As for silver, I have seen 2 silver prinzens in my time. As for Gold prinzen, your posting was a first for me! So, although you got "burned" on the 39 GWB, you are quite fortunate to have the prinzens as a set. (I passed onthe silver prinzen since I was ina cheap mode at the time!) I could not tell from the pictures but are they all from the same manufatuer? i was trying to look at the pin set up on them. Congrats again. Gary B

Hi Laurence, I somehow have missed looking thru this entire thread until today. You have really added some great tabs to your collection! I, like Paul aka "Peter", am envious of your Reserve tabs and musician tabs (quite rare ) Paul, I saw your comment on "getting all of the tabs"...don't foget to leave some for me! G

Dear John, I saw that pennant and thought about getting it even though it is outside my field of collecting. I think pennants are a great buy. Quite rare and beautiful craftsmanship! And for a field unit too boot! Again congrats! Gary B

Gentlemen, Both are beautiful pennants! Gary B

John, Try the Collectors Guild website. He has some pretty good descriptions of items and pictures. I go there many times just to read and learn from his descriptions. I am not sure of any books on the subjet, but will look thru my references. Gary B

See below link. This one just sold on Alden's site. Gary B http://www.blackcrossmilitaria.com/german8.htm

Dear Daniel, I have 360 Sanke cards in my collection and would be willing to scan in any that you need. Please PM me with your email address. Would you prefer B&W or sepia tone as I might have some in both variations (I dont have my list at the office with me). Thanks. Gary B P.S. Yes, Ken is leaving for Germany shortly, but he sold off his Sanke collection, much of which formed the start of my collection. : )