Nack

Bummer. Thanks, though, John. I really appreciate the explanation rather than the unhelpful comment of simply "fake" you get other places. Live and learn!

The one and only TR qualification badge I've ever bought is this one. Came with a original DD Luft helmet that the seller believed came from the same vet. I've spent countless hours reading threads on these things and comparing my badge to the pics I've found, but I'm still unsure whether this is good or not. From what I gather, there seems to be some controversy as to whether this maker made observer badges (I think most say yes), and if they did, whether the badges were only marked "JMME" as opposed to "JMME&Sohn..." I'd love some feedback on this. I'm primarily a US Army Air Force collector and really a novice at best in this area. Thanks for any thoughts anyone has!

Sorry - been away for awhile. I never did remove the cockade. Not sure what the back looks like, but I presume it's from the era.

Hello Gents and Merry Christmas from across the pond! I picked this up recently here in the States, and thought I'd run it across you all. I think it's a WWII Luft aircraft component of some sort, perhaps for starting the engines. Thoughts? Thanks for any ideas you may have!

Thanks, Chip. I'm in the dark as to this stuff, so the help is greatly appreciated.

I grabbed a magnet - the cross is attracted by a magnet. The ring has a maker mark on the ring (I presume) of either M or 3 I think.

I'm sure someone here knows!

Thanks! I thought it was pretty nice, with some character. I'm not sure if it's magnetic or not - I'll check that out. From my limited surfing about the internet, it looks like the hat may be a mine service or railroad hat? This is wayyy outside my sphere of knowledge.

Back

EK

And the inside.

Hey Gents - I've been away for awhile, and living in the US-collecting arena. I recently decided, though, to add a couple German items to the collection to serve as bringback items in my displays. I picked up this hat and have no idea what outfit it relates to. Also, an Iron Cross, which I hope is good. Any thoughts appreciated!

Lol. Darn internet!

I think the post was tongue-in-cheek... :)

...and now a newly minted Noble.

Not to drag ths out any further, but since I'm still working to educate myself (and maybe some others can benefit from my questions), are the differences you are talking about between the caps in the shape? I see that the top of my cap is smaller and tighter, if you will, and RussiaMilitaria's is bigger and more floppy. The materials seriously look pretty much exactly the same to me.

Yes -- the cap was sold to me as post-war, and as I stated in about every post, I wasn't concered about authenticity. I was, however, fishing to see what others thought of the date of the stamp. Ok, the stamp is wierd, I agree. But, the date looks like 1948, and it seems pointless to fake a stamp that isnt wartime (maybe though it was intended to be somewhat ambiguous so you could argue it is wartime, but now we are getting into the realm of a conspiracy theory...) .Anyway, the wear on the cap is rather genuine-looking, and considering we aren't talking about a marshal's cap or anything, it seems to me that this is a 40s'50s cap that maybe has a spurious stamp. In any event, it fits the part it was intended to play.

Marc -- the cap indeed traveled from NJ, not Tenafly NJ though. There is very convincing wear both to the visor and sweatband. Are you of the opinion it was artificially aged? ~Nack

Hudson #510, Ohio, USA.

Yes--that tunic is a reproduction, and hence the incorrect collar embellshments.

Makes a nice display for the awards though

I've got a bunch of mismatched parts caps too -- I had the same disease

Ah, I've got some of these at home too 1970s-80s stuff. It looks like there are several caps with mismatched parts though. The first one is an armor officer service cap. The second is a rifles officer parade cap, but with the wrong chinstrap. The third is police ("militsia"). The fourth and fifth are navy, and I'm not sure if the chinstrap on the navy visor is right. Then an army office's field cap. The piped pilotka is an infantry officer, but has the wrong cocade. I think they remaining stuff is correct.

All good. And nice cap badges folk.

Sheesh. I like your insigna anyway.