Hauptmann

I haven't seen too many around either, at least at any reasonable price. I have a belt w/o cross-strap, in ok condition, that I shelled out somewhere around $60 because I wanted one. A nice belt with the strap would proably run $100-150! The stuff isn't cheap

Hi Nack,

Wow, that much! Had no idea. Needless to say I'm glad I jumped on this one when I had the chance all those years ago.

Thanks!!!!

Dan

Five bucks is a steal

Hi Nack,

Yeah, I thought so too, both then and now. One of those "Can't pass it up." kinda deals. Haven't seen too many since then but then again haven't really been looking. Although as I say I wish I had the belt and cross strap that goes with it. Perhaps one day.

But it's a great heavy piece and looks great in a medals display.

Dan

IF the colors are accurate, Major General in post #8 is KGB, not air force. Air Force runs from robin's egg sky blue to a sort of faded graying-blue but State Security (taking its color from earlier army cavalry) is dark blueberry blue. A silver star on gold would date that before ABOUT 1965 or so, when silver rank stars went to gold on gold. I have no regulations dates after 1958.

"snip"

Scanning tip: because of the intricate weave on officers boards, scan them SIDEWAYS and then turn the image "button side up" if that's how you want the image to display. It will make the shadows less liable to wash out the metallic thread designs and end up leaving metallic boards looking like the silk-woven variety. Try it.

Hi Rick,

On the colors... as much as I "wish" it were true, I do believe these are AF and no the colors on this are not accure on the scan. Try as I might in adjusting it would not come out to the proper AF color to match the boards. But they match my AF privates boards so no doubt that's what they are. I have a couple of KGB shoulder patches and the boards do not match that color but do match the AF color.

On the scanning tip... mucho thanks!!!! Will definitely try that in future.

Thanks Rick... deeply appreciate.

Dan

Get some dessicant packs.

Seal the room off.

Buy a de-humifier.

Move back to Florida.

Wouldn't mind the first one... but they'd have to be pretty big.

Would have to be sealed in with the goodies as far as the second one goes.

Working on the third one.

Never in a million years! Spent a total of 36 years there... too hot, too humid, too buggy, too many hurricanes and tornadoes... too many people... just too!

Would not trade where we are for all the money in the world or anything else.

Dan

Hauptmann,

There are all sorts of products that will get rid of mold. The problem is that it's anyones guess what they will do to the leather. Once an item gets mold on it, it is very hard to get all of it off. You usually end up just stirring it around. What I do, which seems to work, is spray a cloth with some surface disinfectant that specifically kills mold and apply it. You have got to get to every nook and cranny that you can. The better you clean it off the longer it will take to reestablish. I then go back over the leather with Pecards, which protects the leather and inhibits the regrowth of the mold. Perhaps there are others that have better solutions. If so, I would love to hear them.

Chip

Hi Chip,

This gave me a thought... I went ahead and started a post over in the Preservation and Restoration section. So hoping we'll get some helpful hints over there.

http://gmic.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=10817

Thanks,

Dan

Hi all,

Okay, I'd just posted pics of my WWI German helmets and included my pickelhaube:

[attachmentid=52447]

[attachmentid=52448]

As you can see... there's mold in them thar hills! I had had this problem our first summer here on several leather items... holsters, belts, etc. and had gone to great lengths to clean it all off and try to kill the little buggers off.

This season I kept the windows open in the bunker and it was dry and cool down there. But seems some of the little guys decided to move back in.

Chip pointed out the mold in the other post and it got me to thinking it would be a good subject for this forum.

Does anyone have any good ways of killing off this stuff without hurting or adversely affecting the leather? Turns out some of my holsters and such have the problem again. I'd really love to get it taken care of for once and for all and sadly my bunker is the only place I have to store or display my collection. The house is not huge and there's just no where else to put such things.

We're in a very dry climate here. Never had much of a problem with mold down in Florida which of course is extremely humid.

I know I have to get this under control so any helpful hints would be most welcome.

Thanks!

Dan

Anybody got a pair of binoculars! Or perhaps a microscope...

Dan

Hauptmann,

You've got a good crop of mold growing there. You need to get that helmet out of the humidity!

Chip

Hi Chip,

Yeah, noticed that when I did the pics last night. It's cropped up before. Thing is we live in a very dry state. I keep the basement ventilated and it too is very dry. But this stuff popped up our first partial summer here. And try as I might I can't seem to kill it. I've even moved stuff around the house and yet it keeps coming back. It seems to love to live on certain types of leather.

Any ideas on how to kill it off for once and for all? There must be some cleaning or something that won't harm the leather but will get rid of the mold.

Thanks,

Dan

I don't THINK any such problem exists on this forum (unlike others), but I always feel a bit ethically queasy doing these public recommendations. All I'll say is that these are the guys I use. Period. Why I deal with them and not others reflects my interests and what they stock. Other fine UK dealers never bother with medals to Indians so I don't bother with them.

Hi Ed,

To me at least it's very helpful when a fellow member here makes such recommendations. I'm very leery about dealing with new folks, especially in an area where I don't have a ton of expertise or am just starting out. So such recommendations are extremely valuable. Just as when someone should be avoided... I want to know. I'm sure that at least most if not all of us feel this way. It's so easy in all this to lose our hard earned money to crooks and by the same token it's always nice to be able to feel comfortable dealing with someone new knowing that they have a very good rep to start with.

Dan

Thanks Ed.

I debated doing this thread because of all of the simular ones already around. I was afraid of being of re-inventing the wheel. Thank you for the encouragement.

Regards

Paul

Hi Paul,

To my way of thinking it's good for people to post such things... even if posted before. With all the types, variations, etc. out there, not to mention the fact that the more "good" stuff one see's the better you can spot the good from the bad. Same goes with fakes... the more you see and handle the better you get at all this.

And besides... a large part of collecting is in wanting to share what you have with others and to see their collections as well.

I for one thoroughly enjoy each and every post on here... well, except perhaps for the occassional weight loss ad...

Keep up the great work!

Dan

Hi Paul,

"VERY NICE"!!!! Ya know... if they ever want to start the DDR back up again... all they've gotta do is give us a shout and if they can afford our naturally up to date and much more inflated prices then I'm sure we could be pursuaded to sell back enough to get them up and running again!

This is just truly amazing... the uniforms, insignia and equipment of nearly an entire nation squirred away in private collections around the world. Just astounds me when I think about it sometimes. And to think that from all of those Warsaw Pact countries, barely anything got out until after the wall fell and then boom... like K-Mart blew up! Stuff all over the place at rock bottom prices.

I'd love to get an officers at some point. Plus as much as I wanted to doll mine up with some ribbons and awards I'm not really sure what to put on it. The extremely few ribbons I have would work on any police uniform but they're mostly long service... and without the sleeve chevron to indicate matching total of long service I don't think it would look right. Plus, I'd forgotten about that label on the sleeve so guessing it's best to just leave it in an unissued state.

I'm also assuming these folks would have worn the black belt and I've only got the brown NVA officers belt and the web field belt. Don't even have any of the brocade types which I dearly want some day. I've got a Border Guard Colonel uniform and need the brocade for it as I already have the dress cords. Also need a BG officers peaked cap... but would prefer in 59 to 60 size so have been searching for one at a decent price. I much prefer to get the bigger sizes as those seem to dry up quicker than the rest.

And at some point I need some full manequins... although finding those cheap is like finding hen's teeth!

On the piping around the tabs... any idea what it might have signified?

Mucho thanks for sharing! Loved seeing them and if you or any other members have or get more TRAPO items I'd love to see. Don't generally see much about this bunch.

Dan

These could be for a Naval Weapons Officer or Coastal Arty?

Paul

Hi Paul,

You know... that thought never even occurred to me! But makes perfect sense!

Mucho thanks my friend. Where would my brain be without all my fellow hobbyites? God how I love this place!

Have a great one!

Dan

Just finished reading the diaries of this yappy little brownnoser (read the diary if you disagree) and couldn't help but post on this pic. The ability to lie to millions of people with a straight face and write the truth later in a book is something else...anyways, can you post a pic of the reverse as well Dan? It must be hard to authenticate a signature like this, as it is even hard to authenticate modern sports autographs. I guess you have to rely on the source and maybe an expert opinion or two. Any tips on authentic autographs and how to spot one are welcome as I'm sure it is not an easy thing to do, and thanks for posting Dan

Pat

Hi Pat,

Actually I think the back is blank. I've been trying to post pics of the reverse of anything I post... unless it's blank and I don't feel it would add anything. If you really want to see it I'll be glad to do a scan and post it later today as I'm getting ready to hit the bed now.

On signatures... basically there is generally a look that the paper has been compressed under the pen or pencil or whatever was used. You'll be able to feel the impression left by the writing instrument. And depending on the thickness of the medium (paper, cardstock, etc.) you can often see the reverse of the impression on the back.

Also edges under magnification will be a bit rough in places. And you'll see different shades of ink, etc. whenever lines in a signature or any writing cross over other parts of the letter or number that's been written.

Autopen signatures tend to be very even, crisp and just don't have the tell tale marks of something written by hand.

Next time you get a paycheck if you work for a company that uses autopen signatures on their checks... compare it under magnification to a check you've written or one from another individual. You'll begin to see many differences between the two.

Generally when you write to say, politicians... like the President of the U.S., etc., you'll receive an autopen reply. When writing such individuals you must request if at all possible that they actually sign the card, letter, document that you've sent to them or requested they sign. The best way to get autographs of course is in person.

The big thing now is "reprints" where someone gets authentic autographs, does a print of the pic with the signature(s) and then sells it. Basically such pictures are worthless in my opinion... at least as far as autographs. They're like fake Rolex watches. You might impress your next door neighbor. But try reselling it down the road. Unlike real autographs they will not increase in value.

Also keep in mind that a persons handwriting changes over time. What you wrote as a child will in no way resemble what you write now. And as you get older it will continue to change.

Take Kaiser Wilhelm. When a Prince it was a normal sized signature. When he became Kaiser it got larger. The more powerful he became the larger his signature. Then, when his fortunes took a turn for the worse it became smaller and less bold.

Hitler's signature changed in similar ways. He had an unusual signature to begin with... signing AF Hitler... short for Adolf of course. At times he'd also sign Wolf which was a nickname.

Drives me crazy every time I see Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, when Indy is in Berlin dressed as a German officer and Hitler signs his dad's book. He signs it Adolf Hitler. Just didn't happen!

And then, with things like the diaries the signatures and writing continue to be firm and strong even after the bomb plot... when Hitler could barely keep his arm from trembling much less sign anything. His signatures after that event are a pale shadow of their former selves. Just look at a copy of his marriage document compared with an early signature on a Knight's Cross document for example. Like night and day.

If you're really interested I'd highly recommend that you get one (or several) of the late Charles Hamiltons works on the subject. He did two volumes on Leaders and Personalities of the Third Reich as a matter of fact which include photos as well as examples of their signatures. I have the first volume and hope to get the second if it ever comes down in price or I can find a cheap copy used. He includes comparisons of Hitler's handwriting in the first volume. He also has such a comparison of Hitler as well as the Kaiser and Napoleon as well in some of his earlier works.

But during his lifetime he was "the" expert in the field of autographs. He was the one expert to state up front that the Hitler diaries were fakes, even while the other "experts" were touting them are being absolutely authentic.

Sigh... yet another hobby of mine as if I need any more!

Dan

How to recognize WWII borads.

Hi Alfred,

Many thanks for that! That is indeed a huge help! Well, at least I still have a couple of possibles. And I'm guessing several of the others are early on after switching to the five sided's.

Thanks so much for posting that. I'm sure I won't be the only one to benefit from it.

Dan

Some nice HJ items here Dan, I especially like the armband and the shoulder straps. It's always nice to see a collection like this together as a theme. About the box, it could be used as a supply box of some sort, for any type of cutlery etc that was for the many HJ camps out there at the time. That is my guess, and thanks for showing.

Cheers,

Pat

Hi Pat,

Many thanks! As far as the box or whatever it was... it couldn't have contained anything heavy in my opinion as the wood is extremely thin and very light weight. Just no idea but the stamp is nice.

I just wish the Gauseiger and the member badge and stickpin were real. Oh well... at least they look good with the display.

Thanks,

Dan

And the badge:

[attachmentid=52395]

[attachmentid=52396]

[attachmentid=52397]

Cheers Dan

And last but not least... my Gauseiger badge. I've been told that this is an early copy. But I still love it. Got it in a trade deal and have little in it... have had it forever and it looks good with the rest of the collection.

First the case:

[attachmentid=52393]

[attachmentid=52394]

A piece of some sort of box or crate. It's made out of a very light wood but is stamped with an HJ stamp.

[attachmentid=52330]

[attachmentid=52331]

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If anyone has any idea what it says or what it was for I'd love to know.

This was the gift of a very dear friend named Ed Greer, along with some reference books and magazines and a few other pieces that he gave me before he passed on. He is sorely missed. Thanks Ed!

[attachmentid=52325]

Here's the back of the HJ diamond:

[attachmentid=52326]

HJ dagger:

[attachmentid=52327]

[attachmentid=52328]

[attachmentid=52329]

[attachmentid=52316]

[attachmentid=52318]

[attachmentid=52319]

Hi all,

Here's my remaining HJ items. And although the diamond and the stickpin have turned out to be copies I went ahead and included them here just to fill out the display.

[attachmentid=52314]

[attachmentid=52315]

Hi all,

Here are two forks, a knife and a spoon. If you have any examples of Heer silverware or dishware please add it to the pile.

The forks:

[attachmentid=52300]

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[attachmentid=52303]

[attachmentid=52304]

[attachmentid=52305]

[attachmentid=52306]

The knife:

[attachmentid=52307]

[attachmentid=52308]

[attachmentid=52309]

[attachmentid=52310]

The spoon:

[attachmentid=52311]

[attachmentid=52312]

[attachmentid=52313]

Dan

On the dishware I've only scanned the markings. These are all the standard white dishware used in the German Armed Forces. I'll be happy to do full pics of them but I'll have to do it sometime tomorrow.

First the mug... just a plain white mug with no handle:

[attachmentid=52297]

Soup bowl:

[attachmentid=52298]

And platter... many a turkey dinner has been served off of this baby, along with our other regular platter as we often needed two when we had company over for Thanksgiving or Christmas:

[attachmentid=52299]

If anyone knows what any of these markings signify please let me know.

Dan

Hi all,

Here's a couple of knives, a fork and a spoon. Also a mug, soup bowl and platter. If anyone else has any please add them to the pile.

The knives... not a great shape. Looks like they were found in the rubble after a bombing. They are marked on the blades as follows:

HM

Z

In a triangle.

Feinstahl

Solingen

Rostfrei

I tried several times to get this to scan but it just would not show up no matter what I tried.

[attachmentid=52286]

[attachmentid=52287]

[attachmentid=52288]

The fork:

[attachmentid=52289]

[attachmentid=52290]

[attachmentid=52292]

[attachmentid=52291]

The spoon:

[attachmentid=52293]

[attachmentid=52294]

[attachmentid=52295]

[attachmentid=52296]

Hi all,

Here's a Kreigsmarine fork. If anyone else has any KM silverware please add it to the pile. Also any dishware.

[attachmentid=52282]

[attachmentid=52283]

[attachmentid=52284]

[attachmentid=52285]

Dan